Automotive

Auto workers are pushing the Coalition Government to bring forward its decision on auto industry funding before it’s too late.

About 50 engineers walked off the job at Holden’s Port Melbourne engine plant yesterday.

Automotive workers, who will today talk with the government about the future of the auto industry, will not be joined by Holden representatives.

About 150 workers at Holden’s Fishermans Bend engine assembly plant went on strike over caps on redundancy payments.

Three workers were injured in an industrial accident at the Tesla Motors factory in Fremont, California yesterday.

Australia is expected to set a new car sales record in 2103. If it does, this will be the second year in a row that the record has been broken.

The boss of General Motors visited Australia but failed to tour the Elizabeth car-making factory or to meet workers or their representatives.

Ford will axe its Ford Performance Vehicles two years before it winds up its manufacturing operations in Australia.

A federal Liberal backbencher has slammed government support of the struggling automotive sector, calling such assistance corporate welfare.

Many within the automotive industry blame the previous government’s plans to change the FBT regime for a drop in car sales in October.

Some of the workers from the Caterpillar plant in Burnie will work at the factory in Thailand that took jobs from their own plant.

A confidential leaked report by chair of South Australia’s Advanced Manufacturing Council has detailed plans on how the state might cope with the closure of Holden’s Elizabeth factory, which could happen as soon as 2016.

The end of manufacturing for Holden at Elizabeth would be disastrous for SA, costing $1.24 billion and 13,200 jobs according to economic modelling from the Adelaide University.

Mining equipment manufacturer Caterpillar will cut 200 jobs from its Burnie plant in Tasmania’s north-west.

Holden’s workers will get a 3 per cent wage increase beginning on November 15 as the federal government decides on a new cash injection to keep the car company manufacturing in Australia.

A new report commissioned by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries claims that the auto sector’s disappearance would cost Australia’s GDP $7.3 billion and 40,000 jobs.

Australia should not overstate the importance of supporting its embattled automotive sector, according to influential consultant and academic Professor Hermann Simon.

The Tony Abbott government has inherited the ongoing problems of the car industry which Australian governments have attempted to address for decades. It is caught between economic liberal critics of industry assistance and those arguing for its strategic importance, Liz van Acker writes.

The Productivity Commission has officially begun a study into Australia’s auto industry and revealed the terms of the investigation.

Toyota sold 7.41 million vehicles globally for the first nine months of the year and has retained its position as the world’s top-selling car maker.