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By
EWAN KENNEDY in Detroit
16 January 2012
By now you will have heard from the daily media the good news that
Australian governments have agreed to assist the local car
industry during these hard times.
I thought you might like to hear about my thoughts from the inside
after participating in the two press conferences – firstly with
Holden, then with Ford – about co-investment between the
government and car makers. Ford has already gained approval for
government financial aid, and Holden is “very optimistic” it
will obtain similar assistance.
Firstly, let me answer the criticism that Australian taxpayers’
money is being used to prop up giant multinational corporations.
While this is true on the surface, keep in mind that governments
in many other countries are doing the same thing. If Australia is
silly enough to go for the mythical ‘level playing field’
argument our car industry will be wiped out, never to return.
Wise governments realise that viable industries employ tens of
thousands of Australians, either directly or indirectly in the
auto industry. It’s not just the car industry that’s receiving
assistance from governments, the mining and agriculture industries
also get their share.
Governments use their financial resources to protect jobs when
times are tough, and reap the benefits by way of taxation when
times are good.
During the discussions about the assistance deals with the car
makers, the local manufactures had to hand over all the necessary
internal financial documents to government specialists for
scrutiny.
It’s a requirement of the governments’ assistance that the
money is specifically for improvements to local cars’ green
credentials and safety features, not simply for general
engineering.
The two press conferences confirmed my feeling that Senator Kim
Carr, the Australian government industry minister who was at both
the Holden and Ford meetings, is one of the most outgoing and
enthusiastic people I’ve ever met. He truly has the needs of
Australian manufacturing industry at heart and is continually
pushing hard to get what he wants. Carr reminds me of Henry VIII
in build, facial hair and outgoing attitude to life – an
interesting guy.
While being enthusiastic,
Carr (great name for an advocate for the motor vehicle industry!)
is realistic about the vehicle business and was adamant in
reminding everyone that the days of cars being fully designed and
built in Australia have gone forever. These days our local
engineers and stylists compete on the international market.
Somewhat bizarrely, the
biggest competitors of Australian car makers are often against the
equivalent divisions of their own companies worldwide. Car
makers’ head offices get divisions within their global
organisations to put forward business proposals – and the best
one wins.
Thus we have a situation
where Holden engineers have done major work on cars such as the
Cadillacs, Buicks and other GM models. Some of these will never be
sold in Australia, but the engineering expertise gained by our
local guys and gals is invaluable
Holden chief, Mark Devereux,
an American who has only been in Australia for a year, already has
a strong understanding of Australian car culture. While
appreciating the passion amongst local revheads for the local
industry, he also makes it clear that times have changed. He says
local car enthusiasts now need to take pride in the global work
being done by Australians, not just in the Aussie cars they
produce.
If Kim Carr reminds me of
Henry VIII, Mike Devereux, with his gym-honed appearance, shaved
head and slightly aggressive stance, looks as though he should be
working with the tough guys in the factory stamping plant, not
sitting in the chief’s seat. It’s a toss up was to whether
Carr or Devereux has the more outgoing personality!
In complete contrast,
Ford’s Australian president, American Bob Graziano, is just the
opposite, quiet and mild-mannered, at least on the surface, no
doubt he can be aggressive when required, he is pleasant to talk
with and shows compassion for those doing it tough at present.
Obviously, negations between
Holden, Ford and the Australia governments have been going on for
months and the heads of both companies met their global chiefs
immediately before the Detroit Motor Show. They then called in
Australian journalists attending the show to let them know of the
good news.
The overall head of the Ford
Motor Company, Alan Mulally called into the Australian Ford press
conference for a few minutes, so obviously takes our market very
seriously.
Check out Mulally’s
Facebook fan page and you will find more than one message from
American Ford enthusiasts pleading with him to import Aussie
Falcons to the USA. The first Australian Falcons came from the US
in the early 1960s, but the nameplate is long gone on the other
side of the Pacific and American car nuts would love to be able to
buy a rear-drive Falcon.
Realistically it’s going
to be the other way around and Australian buyers may well be
driving a front-drive Ford Taurus with Falcon badges sometime
after 2018. At least it now looks as though that car will be built
in Australia with extensive local input to the design.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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