Holden will upgrade its emissions testing lab at its proving ground, east of Melbourne, spending $9 million and creating 11 new jobs.
The Advertiser reports that the lab at Lang Lang, which employs 95 currently, will continue testing vehicles to make sure they met future emissions standards. It currently runs about 7,000 economy and emissions tests annually.
“This investment shows Detroit has a long-term commitment to Holden and retaining hi-tech and high-skilled jobs within the company,” said Sean Poppitt, a Holden spokesman, told The Advertiser.
Meanwhile, federal industry minister Greg Hunt is preparing to travel to the US and Japan next week, in what the government says is a vote of confidence in Australia’s automotive industry.
Following Ford’s conclusion of Australian manufacturing this month, both Toyota and Holden will do the same next year.
However, all three will retain thousands of employees in engineering roles
Ford recently announced that it would retain an extra 160 engineering staff, with 1,100 workers in total being retained by the car maker in Asia Pacific product development.