Toyota To End Manufacture in Australia
Will the last manufacturer to leave Australia please turn off the lights?
Imthishan Giado
It’s been a series of sad days for fans of Australian-made cars. First Ford announced it would close its facilities in 2016; then Holden in 2017; and now with a thudding sense of inevitability, Toyota of Australia has announced it will close its Altona plant in the Victoria city of Melbourne in 2017, putting an end to 2,500 jobs in the facility.
With a high Australian dollar, an expensive labour force and without subsidies from the sitting Abbott Liberal government, each manufacturer has found it impossible to justify manufacturing in the country. A further 30,000 jobs are at risk, as the repercussions of the three manufacturers ending production continue to reverberate around the industry.
Many of the Camrys and Aurions produced by Altona were destined for the Middle East; if you’re been in an taxi in Dubai in the last ten years, you’ve experienced an Australian car. Importers like Al Futtaim can source their vehicles from any factory across the globe including the US and Thailand so there’s no question of disruption of Camry supply. Currently however, the Aurion is only produced in Melbourne so the future of that vehicle in this region is in doubt, as are questions about parts supply.
Toyota’s regional office replied to our request for a comment: “This will be investigated. At this time, no decisions have been made.
“We would like to stress that Toyota has plants all over the world from which we source other models and some of these plants already produce the Camry,” the representative added.
