Toyota gone

AndrewJ · #1 10-02-2014, 04:55 PM

Just hearing on the ABC that now Toyota has decided to pull out of any manufacturing in Oz within 3 years????
How long before the only way to run the country is to be a banker, lawyer, accountant or "ditch digger".
Economic idealism has gone mad in this country in record time.

Andrew

multiweb (Marc) · #2 10-02-2014, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewJ

Just hearing on the ABC that now Toyota has decided to pull out of any manufacturing in Oz within 3 years????
How long before the only way to run the country is to be a banker, lawyer, accountant or "ditch digger".
Economic idealism has gone mad in this country in record time.

Andrew

Maybe they were expecting a bailout too. We should have our own car manufacturing and tax imports. Keep the jobs home. We've got the brains and the raw material.

traveller (Bo) · #3 10-02-2014, 05:05 PM

And I bet there are more journos covering the release of a convicted drug trafficker in Bali than this one.....

Friend of mine works in Toyota, said the writing has been on the wall since Fords announcement. He blames much of the situation on the inflexible IR policy. Not in a position to comment. He has been eyeing a payout and looking getting into the finance sector (he is in procurement).

Dark days ahead...

Bo

MortonH · #4 10-02-2014, 05:08 PM

Yup. Worries me what jobs will be available in Australia when my daughter grows up.

PCH (Paul) · #5 10-02-2014, 05:52 PM

Marc,

you're right mate, - we have got the brains and the raw materials.

But what we haven't got is the ability to produce cars, or anything for that matter, at a price that can compete with people who get paid peanuts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by multiweb

Maybe they were expecting a bailout too. We should have our own car manufacturing and tax imports. Keep the jobs home. We've got the brains and the raw material.

Camelopardalis (Dunk) · #6 10-02-2014, 06:46 PM

I don't mean this to sound funny, it's not intended that way and is just an observation but...

Practically everything is expensive here, and consequently salaries are relatively high...it was just a matter of time, well and numbers

The lifestyle is good, but it comes at a cost.

When it comes to cars, it's a relatively small market, so domestically produced vehicles are really only viable in low volume. Which doesn't work. Being so far from everywhere else means export isn't really going to make you money. Ford, GM and Toyota just held out as long as they needed to minimise the PR damage bit you can bet they were all waiting for one of the others to move first. And no doubt they were hoping the government would get splattered with more of the mud. But large foreign companies shouldn't expect hand outs from any government...it's not sustainable.

BPO · #7 10-02-2014, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camelopardalis

IPractically everything is expensive here, and consequently salaries are relatively high...

Come to NZ, where everything is expensive, but incomes are low.

acropolite (Phil) · #8 10-02-2014, 07:30 PM

I'm opposed to any subsidy of industry, that said, the end of subsidies (and legalised tax evasion) should extend to all business. The amount of money handed out to the big 3 is obscene, that money could be better used for health and education (not that the current government is likely to do that). The mining industry is set to recieve subsidies on fuel, they make enough money already without being in my pocket. The Tasmanian Forest industry has been heavily subsidised for decades at the expense of other services, at the same time trashing our valuable timber resources, pollies both state and federal are still trying to resuscitate the carcass.

This article puts an interesting perspective on the argument.
http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2013...n-perspective/

noeyedeer (Matt) · #9 10-02-2014, 07:34 PM

it's the government .. spc will prolly shut down too. just like all iconic Aussie brands it's the government that allows low price imports from overseas.

in the end it's US (not the u.s.) that buy the cheaper brands that drive imports instead of home grown, home made stuff. like how Chinese business buy
more cattle stations in the outback because our government don't want to know about it ... etc. it's easier to sell land then to keep it producing ...

matt

AndrewJ · #10 10-02-2014, 07:38 PM

Quote:

But large foreign companies shouldn't expect hand outs from any government...it's not sustainable.

Agreed, as long as the other countries arent "quietly" providing handouts that effectively destroy us if we dont match them.
Companies dont care, they go for the best profit, and if they can get it, why wouldnt they take it????

I wonder if in this new era of economic rationalism and "non entitlement",
whether the "professional unions", like lawyers, accountants, doctors, dentists, bankers, financial advisers etc will also be forced to reduce all their "internationally excessive" fees as well and be forced to compete in a truly open market with overseas "suppliers" of product.
Lets face it, in most court cases, 50% of the lawyers lose, but you still have to pay. At least losing for half the cost may not hurt as much

.

I see Abbott is happy to give 100mill to his lawyer mates for a royal commission. Wonder if the big end of town will be excluded from the process????

Andrew ( now in the dumb country )

TrevorW · #11 10-02-2014, 07:47 PM

Move away from labour intensive to robotics very slow, Holden and Ford needed to make smaller cars to cater for the market but didn't relying on imports to cater for that segment- why would you buy a Holden V8 for the same price you can get an Audi or BMW for -didn't make sense to me- if big business can't compete in a global economy by innovation and investment in the future then they deserve to be phased out not continually propped up by the Govt. Manufacturing in this country is dead because companies (and Govt's alike) have been stifled by IR and Union intervention and failed to invest in R& D and grasp technological innovation to ensure their survival.

It's a global market companies have to compete in that market to survive- why is SPC closing down- we prodcue some of the best quality fruit in the world- it's companies like Coles and Woolworths who maximize returns to their shareholders by bringing in cheaper imports for greater returns forcing companies like SPC out of business-

Camelopardalis (Dunk) · #12 10-02-2014, 09:57 PM

What's 'IR'? (Soory, n00b question)

We need to invest in solar technologies...it's not like Australia is short of engineers, resources, cash or indeed sunshine

Hans Tucker (Hans) · #13 10-02-2014, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camelopardalis

What's 'IR'? (Soory, n00b question)

We need to invest in solar technologies...it's not like Australia is short of engineers, resources, cash or indeed sunshine

Industrial Reform

Retrograde (Pete) · #14 10-02-2014, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camelopardalis

We need to invest in solar technologies...it's not like Australia is short of engineers, resources, cash or indeed sunshine

New government hates renewable energy & is doing all it can to stop it expanding.

Peter Ward · #15 10-02-2014, 11:11 PM

The usual drivel was being spouted by Bolt et al. on conservative radio today.

They blamed the "high cost of labour' (amongst other oddly, unmentioned things)

I've never known a company to fail from the shop floor.

An anecdotal look at the productions lines of the big three have always made me think they looked antiquated....

....with management quite happy to take millions, if not billions of $ from Taxpayers, rather than make their workers and lines more efficient and make a product for global markets rather the the BS phrase "built for Australian conditions"

Catchy jingles like "football meat pies, Kangaroos and Holden cars" were a con....they were derived from "baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet"

Go figure.

I rather like the German Mittelstand model...if you want to read about it:

http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en...n-mittelstand/

Seems we can't learn from them & we won't make cars anymore.

That is a shame.

I hope the likes of Elon Musk might see an opportunity and start building Tesla's here....

billdan (Bill) · #16 10-02-2014, 11:27 PM

I wonder what V8 Supercars will do in the future, probably race Ford Mustangs, Chev Corvettes as well as the Mercs and Nissans.

Bill

bobson (Bob) · #17 11-02-2014, 01:07 AM

I just watched program with Steven Hawking as a host. Not sure what channel it was. They showed car made in Germany that uses Tesla's technology of wireless electricity. So battery wont be an issue any more.

Its about time someone starts using technology and stop dancing as petrol companies want us to do.

And its not just about petrol. About tyres that never puncture, memory materials for car bodies that when ever crushed just heat it up and goes in original shape. Non rusting materials and so on. These are all over 10 and more years old innovations that we don't use.

noeyedeer (Matt) · #18 11-02-2014, 01:24 AM

it was on Sbs .. just before housos lol.

that technology won't happen because of government ties to the companies that keep us down. eg solar power was around in the 60s. tesler invented wireless electricity over 100 years ago .. gees .. as if we will see it

matt

noeyedeer (Matt) · #19 11-02-2014, 01:34 AM

cancer could be cured already if they wanted it to

multiweb (Marc) · #20 11-02-2014, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCH

Marc,

you're right mate, - we have got the brains and the raw materials.

But what we haven't got is the ability to produce cars, or anything for that matter, at a price that can compete with people who get paid peanuts.

Well Renault has been making sh|t cars for over a century and they're plagued by unions. If they can do it we can. Make an aussie car and I'll buy it. Even if it's a little dearer than the competition.