What’s next for Australia’s auto industry?
Speculation abounds in the wake of Ford’s announcement that they will be closing down engine operations at their Geelong plant by 2010. Government, unions and industry are all keen to have their say on what this means for the future of Australian-built cars.
From an alternative fuels point of view, Labor has been the first to jump in and put its weight behind developing locally built low-emission vehicles through its Green Car Partnership program, for which it has pledged $500 million and asked the car industry to match it on a one-to-three basis, bringing the total pool to $2 billion. The ALP program aims to develop low-emission vehicles in Australia through through a variety of avenues such as clean diesel, hybrids and flexible fuel vehicles. Labor leader Kevin Rudd has also promised to fast-track a review of the automotive industry and implement it within three months of being elected. Joining Mr Rudd was Kim Carr, the Shadow Minister for Industry, who came out swinging in an editorial in today’s Australian newspaper who attacked the Coalition government for not helping the automotive industry adapt to a changing marketplace and outlined the ALP’s plans to help Ford develop a local line of more efficient vehicles.
The industry and various unions also put some of the blame for the plant closure at the government’s feet, with Victorian AWU secretary Cesar Melham saying the Federal Government should step in and help the industry as a matter of national interest.
“It’s very grim for the automotive industry if a company like Ford closed down its engine operation, if a company like Ford failed to invest in new technology, where we’re talking about diesel engines, smaller engines, hybrid cars - it’s looking very grim,” he said.
In addition, AMWU secretary Dave Oliver is calling on the Federal government to convene an “urgent summit” for the automotive industry to look at the challenges facing it in the future.
So what does this all mean for the future of more efficient Australian cars? While both the Federal Opposition and unions support Ford and other car-makers moving towards hybrids and other cleaner technology, neither the Federal Government nor the automotive industry have have signalled that they plan to make any significant steps towards that end. The move to use imported V6 engines is better for the environment (as it meets upcoming Euro IV standards), but not so much for the local industry. It seems only time will tell whether the industry listens to public demand for more efficient, cleaner cars.
UPDATE 19/7: Ford Australia President, Tom Gorman, has ruled out the possibility of creating a locally-produced hybrid at Ford in the near future, but says that the use of low-pollution combustible fuels such as LPG, ethanol and diesel are possibilities.
(Sources: news.com.au, ABC News)
Original post by Nathan