http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24639217-601,00.html
Big news this week that along with a global financial crisis we apparently have a global automotive manufacturing crisis, or at least an Australian and US crisis. The big three in the US (GM, Ford and Chrysler) are all bleeding money hand of fist and will run out of reserves by early next year. Not only that, they can't get finance to pay ongoing costs and are crippled by long term problems with unions, pensions and dropping market share.
GM is apparently valued at $2.7 billion US right now, for a company with a global market share similar to Toyota!
In Australia K Rudd has put up $6 billion over several years to continue to "assist" the Australian car industry to remain competitive. Apparently the Australian manufacturers already receive the equivalent of $4000 assistance for every car they produce, including the ones that are exported. See a problem here?
I read an article yesterday, which I have been unable to find, which suggested that the Government should purchase either Holden or Ford from their US owner and then sell it back to the people, a la the sale of Telstra. The suggestion was that such a move would give people a stronger reason to purchase from that company (true Australian ownership) and that all those rev-heads out there would love to own a part of their favourite car company.
Following on from that proposal, I would like to suggest how such a plan might unfold into the future. I quite like the idea, especially since it removes the taint of government control that inevitably destroys anything it touches due to politicians not being able to keep their greedy hands in their pockets.
Holden and Ford in Australia are particularly good at producing large sized rear driving, motor cars that combine size, comfort, performance and economy in a package that is much cheaper than the equivalents to be found in Europe (and there's hardly any rear drivers made in the US anymore). Think your HSVs and XR8's and all those other similar vehicles, cars that go fast, are fun to drive, comfortable, will carry the whole family and don't use too much fuel (as long as you drive conservatively).
Unfortunately, the export options for these vehicles are very limited. They can't be exported to the US because the unions which dominate the Big three over there cry foul and cause problems. They can't be exported to Europe because there are GM and Ford subsidiaries there that already have their own equivalents, roughly speaking, and don't want the competition. They can't be exported to Asia because there are already GM and Ford subsidiaries there and the priority is given to them, not to the Aussies. Basically, our exports go to the Middle East and a few other small markets around the place such as South Africa.
An independent Ford or Holden would change this equation completely. Don't you think the US market would love the Territory, or a 400kw Monaro, or the new Holden station wagon, or even the very nice looking Ford ute (the US is the home of the truck after all). An aggressive, viral marketing campaign, combined with proper after market service and realistically priced vehicle financing (a major problem in the US right now) could see the brand grow slowly but surely, especially if aimed at specific markets.
Similarly, putting the top of the line sports sedan up against Mercedes and BMW is sure to catch both marques out, Holden have tried in the UK but it's been on such a small scale that it hasn't really worked. In Asia, bigger is better, so something long and sleek and covered in chrome is sure to sell well. And of course, unfettered access to the Middle East would see sales increase, with no problems about taking too much away from the home company.
But the best thing is this. Both Holden and Ford in Australia have demonstrated that they can develop and produced a completely new car that is globally competitive, on a unique platform that is basically dependent on domestic sales in Australia to recover costs. You don't need to sell many units to suddenly be selling more cars overseas than you do in Australia. What if they could sell 100,000 vehicles in the US per year?
Of course, this is all pie in the sky, because who ever heard of politicians doing anything like this? Especially not our man Kevin, the megalomaniac with his finger on every button, because doing so would relinquish control and he's shown that that's not something that he's especially fond of.
Coming up next; what new vehicles could this newly independent manufacturer produce?
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