Its extremely doubtful if Australian car building industries could ever operate without a combination of significant exports & massive gubmunt subsidies, simply because the quantities are miniscule in real world terms. Other than the odd niche market, exports are unlikely to set the world on fire because who else wants to purchase dinosaurs ?? We could capture the market for long distance capable battery-electric cars (no Martha, I don't mean hybrids) although it would be an exercise to convince petrol-headed bogans they should embrace the 21st century. Regardless of all the crap flying about peak oil / lack of agricultural land for ethanol/ AGM / carbon tax / etc, SOMEONE is going to sell an awful lot of battery-electric vehicle technology in the forseeable future, certainly a whole lot more in dollar terms than Falcadores. We probably have most if not all the raw materials, we have no shortage of labour (albeit horribly expensive), and we'd have no problem renting / stealing / hiring / buying / inventing any technological requirements. Clearly we lack any semblance of intelligent life at political level, that being the stumbling block unless Big Clive gets up.

Has anyone looked at the local product designed and built here in Australia? I have via looking for a new car 2 years ago and in renting cars when interstate. The common factor across both experiences is the locally designed and built cars just don't cut the mustard. The design, the fit out and quality of finish just isn't there in the holdens and fords compared to what is available from other makers. Especially when the locals charge for every extra they can and the imported cars come as a complete all inclusive package with little extra to be added.

Yes I agree that Australia needs a manufacturing industry. We have no future as a service economy. But any industry needs to be world competitive to justify its existance and there I suspect is the problem with head office (overseas) not wanting a competitive local industry.

Oh and it can be done in a first world country. Just look where the luxury cars come from and the muscle cars. It can be done. But it needs leaders (in business and politics) that Australia sadly lacks

DKit

I have long believed that the best way for any local manufacturer to stay put, is for governments to give incentives for locals to buy locally built products, like cars.

Imagine if, instead of pouring billions into these companies, governments subsidized the purchase of a local car, then, also provided a discount fuel card, which could be used in conjunction with other discount vouchers, and these gov discounts would be credited to the providers by gov.

This discount card can only be used for that car and can be transferred when then car is on sold.

After all said and done, selling cars is the best way for this industry to stay afloat.

Funding must not be by way of handouts.

It's like the old saying, you give a man a fish and He'l eat that night, teach him how to fish and he will eat forever.

As for Bob Katter,, i like him, however, as a member at one point I was offered a free T shirt for attending a meeting.

I asked if that was an Australian made shirt, and you guessed it, no reply.

I remember reading articles last year regarding foreign manufacturers (including Ford) trying to sell electric cars in China being faced with conditions that effectively meant them transferring the intellectual property behind the design and manufacture of their technology to Chinese firms. At least one of the manufacturers (Renault-Datsun)baulked at this but I wonder how long it will be before more Chinese cars enter our market equipped with this "transferred" technology. (A bit like solar cells and wind turbines.)

Put simply the automotive industry is not a level playing field. Countries like Germany protect their industry to try to stop their intellectual property being stolen by competitors.

Australia is simply not competitive any more. To produce a car here, it costs twice what it does in Europe. We load up our industries with the carbon tax, bells and whistles employment conditions, 12% super and all the rest. As a well informed commentator pointed out, we are becoming the France of Asia and its not sustainable. So we need to learn the hard way, as people don't want to think about easier ways.

Australian taxpayers and motorists have already wasted billions of dollars propping up this industry. It's time to let it die.

I don't always agree with Graham Richardson, but on this issue I think he is spot on:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/car-industry-going-the-way-of-the-dodo/story-fnfenwor-1226649501559