Local car industry vital: Ford

[JPFS1]

ABC report updated to reflect the comments as they were said... sort of..

link to ABC article and audio

[mik]

never let the facts get in the way of a good story?

[Fiesta_Man69]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

Are you a Fairfax journalist? That is not what Graziano said.

I reported what Channel 7 news in NSW announced on their 7am news. Second top story. Whether it is true or not I don't know... In fact only one bloke in Aus actually knows what the plans for Fords local manufacturing are.

[mik]

regardless of what anyone says , if person X was a business owner, and i could get 5 workers in asia for the price of one in oz and more favorable trading deals not building cars in oz and still make more profit ............ person X would not be planning to stay in Australia, and i suspect that`s why the alleged rags keep needling ford oz imo.

[justrod]

quick question if ford ceases production in 2016 and say holden not far behind how would this affect bathurst etc

[Jim Goose]

Originally Posted by justrod

quick question if ford ceases production in 2016 and say holden not far behind how would this affect bathurst etc

umm... who cares?

I think its been clarifed that it wont cease production, but if it did who cares about racing? Id be more worried about how the country is going down the gurgler...

[Road_Warrior]

A much more balanced and informative article from GoAuto:

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...257A690002B68E

And I'll just point this out:

While Mr Graziano would not be drawn on the future of Falcon, he did say that hypothetically a global engineering and design centre could be viable in a country without a manufacturing base, although it was not the best option.

“There are some people that think you’ve got to have manufacturing capability with research and development capability,” he said.

“We think you can have R&D without manufacturing, but it clearly helps to have manufacturing and we’re very fortunate to have both manufacturing, the R&D and a really stunning test facility as well.

“We’ve got the whole package here and that’s what we’re leveraging for the programs we are working on.”

Smash.

[anto]

Death by a thousand cuts.

I wish Ford would push back with a positive campaign blitz. This kind of unchecked negativity spreads like wildfire..

[Nikked]

So in other words, ford will continue to build cars here...and have never said thsy will shut up shop.

[GTP534]

Originally Posted by anto

Death by a thousand cuts.

I wish Ford would push back with a positive campaign blitz. This kind of unchecked negativity spreads like wildfire..

I've been talking with some colleagues and friends about the new FPV I'll be getting soon. A typical comment is "Why are you buying a Ford, they're pulling out in 2 or 3 years time."

There's a lot of negativity out there and the journalists are just loving it.

It's good to hear Graziano talk like that, "leveraging", sounds like he wants Ford Australia to still be of the group of "13" that can design, engineer and manufacture.

[I6DOHC]

It almost beggars belief that a professional 'journalist' could misconstrue the message from Bob Graziano in such a way. What Bob has come out and said is actually a shot in the arm and read quite positive to me (I read the article on GoAuto). It's good to hear from the top brass here in Oz. Keep it coming, as demonstrating passion about what is (and can be) done by the local guys is great to see. (Maybe a quick virtual viewing of the 2014/2016 Falcon/s might have been the tonic to keep the wolves at bay???....)

Perhaps Sinead should organise a full page ad in the Age with the message in Post #26.

[turbodewd]

Its because Fairfax journos will likely be out of a job before Ford employees. Newspapers being eaten by the internet.

I bet there salary of a motoring journo is no better than a factory floor Ford fella.

[jpd80]

It's so sad that the press keep sweating on an announcement that Ford is stopping manufacturing just to prove themselves right...
I think the assertions are now that deep rooted in stories that the press could never recant them without losing face and credibility..

If Ford made an announcement that Falcon will continue until 2018, the press would headline the story as "Falcon dead in 2018"

[bobthebilda]

Originally Posted by Nikked

So in other words, ford will continue to build cars here...and have never said thsy will shut up shop.

Ford Oz dont decide whether they are building cars post 2016, the buying public does. If Ford Oz have the foresight to know whats happening 4 years from now, they would have applied it four years ago, and would be selling 150,000 locally made cars this year.

[Fiesta_Man69]

Originally Posted by bobthebilda

Ford Oz dont decide whether they are building cars post 2016, the buying public does. If Ford Oz have the foresight to know whats happening 4 years from now, they would have applied it four years ago, and would be selling 150,000 locally made cars this year.

Exactly.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by jpd80

It's so sad that the press keep sweating on an announcement that Ford is stopping manufacturing just to prove themselves right...
I think the assertions are now that deep rooted in stories that the press could never recant them without losing face and credibility..

If Ford made an announcement that Falcon will continue until 2018, the press would headline the story as "Falcon dead in 2018"

Aint that the truth.

[Fiesta_Man69]

Originally Posted by Nikked

So in other words, ford will continue to build cars here...and have never said thsy will shut up shop.

So the story reported by Ch 7 was completely incorrect? All their "facts" were wrong?

Excellent.

So Ford employees heading home tonight to families and a mortgage have absolutely nothing to worry about? Great....

Kinda reminds me of the Naked Gun "there's nothing to see here" scene.....

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by GTP534

It's good to hear Graziano talk like that, "leveraging", sounds like he wants Ford Australia to still be of the group of "13" that can design, engineer and manufacture.

Leverage:

A buzzword used by management and those who aspire to become management. It used to describe an advantage gained by using a tool. Later it became a term used to describe corporate debt. For example, a leveraged buy-out is one where the buyer has to borrow money in order to buy the other company.

After much mis-use, the word leverage no-longer describes anything or have any meaning to anyone who has ever worked in an office.

in business circles this word is most commonly used in place of the word 'use'.

Steve: Can we take this off-line, I'm hungry. I'm going to leverage a sandwich.

Paula: Great idea, I could also leverage some food.

Steve: Come on then, we can leverage my car to get to the sandwich leverager.

Paula: Good leverage, we should leverage your leverage so we'll leverage

Steve: Leverage



One of our guys took a package from Ford after working there for 23 years, but he says after 2016 that they will probably be hiring more people because Ford will live on in Australia, they won't just abandon us and dissapear into the night, maybe a medium sized car to be manufactured here etc.

Plus the game can always change, something could happen between now and 2016 which turns everything on its head.

[Road_Warrior]

Ford lay-offs a sign of commitment

http://www.carpoint.com.au/news/2012...mmitment-32146

A company that markets an iconic performance family sedan and a strong-selling SUV – built in the tens of thousands each year – would be loathe to drop the two models from its local product range.

One of those models is badged ‘Falcon’, one of the most recognised and respected model names in Australia. The SUV is the Territory, only outsold for the year to date in its VFACTS class by the Toyota Prado and the Nissan X-TRAIL.

Yet the manufacturer of both vehicles, Ford Australia, finds itself once again in the position of defending against speculation it will close down its Geelong engine plant and the vehicle assembly facility in Broadmeadows.

Remarks made by Ford Australia president Bob Graziano yesterday have been interpreted in a media report published today as a sign that Ford already has plans in place to cease local manufacture. But that conclusion looks shaky, based on what the future is known to hold for the manufacturer.

There’ll be no immediate change to the status quo. Ford is committed to an updated Falcon in 2014 and given the need to amortise the cost of that development – plus the introduction of Euro 5 emissions legislation two years later – the Falcon will remain in production for at least another four years, short of some unforeseeable catastrophe.

The wider community is watching for Ford to follow the path taken by Mitsubishi as the Adelaide-based company wound down its manufacturing operations in Australia. Ford’s recent announcement it would be shedding staff between now and November adds to the public perception the same pattern is emerging, but another way of looking at that is as an indicator of Ford’s determination to keep the plant open, building cars into the future.

“We look at each individual operation and that’s why we try and maximise the efficiency of every operation that we have here, but it’s all an aggregate at the end of the day,” Bob Graziano told motoring.com.au yesterday, when asked whether Ford Australia’s manufacturing facilities had to pay their own way and be self-sustaining for revenue. The Ford president would not be drawn on the possibility of expanding into export markets beyond the introduction of Euro 5 emissions in 2016, but implied that reducing staff levels would future-proof the company against a tougher marketing environment.

“Some of the things that we’ve done – and I had to make the announcement in July with respect to changing the production capacity in the plant – that’s all intended to drive efficiencies in the plant, based on the volumes that we’re currently experiencing. We think we’re at the right level and we’ll be at the right level when we get to November – and we’re going to continue to operate with that, based on where we think the market is going to go.”

That reads like Ford Australia is hoping for the best, but planning for the worst. If the company were so very uncertain about the immediate future for Aussie manufacturing, it would be closing down now or in the near future – and even handing back the $103 million grant offered by the federal government back in January. Ford had previously returned government funding for a stillborn project to develop left-hand drive Falcons for export, so the precedent exists.

Much of the recent media speculation is predicated on Falcon selling in rapidly declining numbers. Neither the introduction of a MkII facelift nor fuel-frugal or cost-saving alternatives (EcoLPI and EcoBoost) has reversed that trend, but Mr Graziano is not by any means certain that Falcon’s retail slump can’t be stabilised at the very least.

“I think what we’ll see is a moderation at the levels that we’re at right now, moving forward. I’m hopeful that they’ll stabilise...” he said. The EcoBoost variants, already Euro 5-ready, might be the key to the Falcon’s survival into the future, but the turbocharged four-cylinder engine in the large car has not met with immediate market acceptance. It will initially deliver “slow-burn” sales growth, to quote Ford’s Public Affairs Director, Sinead Phipps. For his part, Bob Graziano acknowledges the buyer resistance to the Falcon EcoBoost is an issue Ford needs to overcome.

“There is an apparent perception in the market here that a four-cylinder won’t work with a large car, so it’s literally a matter of getting people to sit in the vehicle and experience it – and that’s what we’re doing...” he said. “I think that we’re [in] early days...”

Mr Graziano says that EcoBoost has taken some time to establish itself in other markets and he sees no reason why the local market would be any different. But anecdotal evidence suggests the Falcon’s greatest problem in the market is a combination of packaging and style. Presumably the 2014 update will result in a substantial change to the look of the current car, to distance it from its predecessors. Sources inside Ford have reported the 2014 Falcon design is shaping up very well on that score. Hopefully that also means Ford’s designers are working on the car’s doors and roofline for easier access and improved headroom.

The cloud over Falcon’s future – and more importantly, the future of manufacturing at Broadmeadows – darkened following the announcement earlier this year that Ford Australia had posted a massive loss, after two years in profit. But $282 million of the $290 million loss last year was money earmarked for R&D – as opposed to the cost of manufacturing local product. An unquantified part of that R&D investment was allocated to the T6 Ranger project, and Ford Australia is understood to be working on an SUV based on the Ranger platform as well as the 2014 Falcon. It’s believed that Ford Australia earns revenue from its development work for international design projects, but since Ford Australia shouldered the $282 million on its lonesome it’s likely the majority of the R&D spend went to the Falcon update. Mr Graziano would not reveal any further information concerning the income earned by Ford Australia’s R&D team.

“We don’t break out individual departments in terms of monetary contributions...” he said.

With Ford promoting the refurbished design centre, which was the reason for the motoring press attending yesterday, it was logical to query whether the design facility could continue to operate without a nearby production facility.

“I think there’s mixed views on that,” Mr Graziano responded. “There are some people that think you’ve gotta have manufacturing capability with R&D capability. We believe that you can have research and development without manufacturing; [but] it clearly helps to have manufacturing. And we’re very fortunate that we have both manufacturing, the research and development, and a stunning test facility as well. So we’ve got the whole package here, and that’s what we’re leveraging for the program.”

With Ford Australia well placed to ship cars to emerging markets in China and India, perhaps the real debate between the local arm and its parent is not about whether Falcon will continue to be an indigenous design after the current model’s lifecycle has ended – that argument has already been ‘lost’ by Broadmeadows. Perhaps, Ford Australia is mounting a strong case for building the next-generation of (global) large car here, to export ‘there’.

There are so many ‘known unknowns’ in Ford’s future – both here and abroad – that speculation is bordering on irresponsible. Will the next generation Taurus be rear-wheel drive, for example? If Ford wants a large luxury car for the emerging markets (and Benz, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus and Infiniti all subscribe to the rear-drive large sedan paradigm), it’s an idea not without merit.

What about Mustang? There are those who believe Mustang and Falcon can still sit on the platform. And now that production of the Crown Victoria has ended, is there any rational argument against the Falcon or a Falcon replacement being exported from Broadmeadows to the Middle East?

All questions unanswered by Ford, which is why media speculation persists – and will continue until such matters are unequivocally resolved.

A good, balanced analysis. Although the haters here won't like it because it is too slanted in Ford's favour.

Personally I think there is a better chance of local manufacture of a car like the next gen Ford Edge than another large car though. Just sayin'

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by Fiesta_Man69

So the story reported by Ch 7 was completely incorrect? All their "facts" were wrong?

Excellent.

So Ford employees heading home tonight to families and a mortgage have absolutely nothing to worry about? Great....

Kinda reminds me of the Naked Gun "there's nothing to see here" scene.....

You'll be more suited here...

ozmazda


You obviously lightly scan over the facts and just get a negative opinion to champ on about. (sorta like your single minded Toyota 86 opinion)


Ford Australia have continued to poor money into the Locally made cars, something that would not happen if they were to be canned.

There is a major falcon update in 2014, and that alone suggest that the falcon will be here for a while...

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

Ford lay-offs a sign of commitment

http://www.carpoint.com.au/news/2012...mmitment-32146



A good, balanced analysis. Although the haters here won't like it because it is too slanted in Ford's favour.

Im glad it points out that the loss was due to investment and R&D for global products, not the running of local production lines, give a good indication that the local cars are not costing Ford money.

The T6 seems to be a winner on the global scale, making Australias outpost a vital part of fords future.

[Fiesta_Man69]

Originally Posted by Nikked

You'll be more suited here...

ozmazda


You obviously lightly scan over the facts and just get a negative opinion to champ on about. (sorta like your single minded Toyota 86 opinion)


Ford Australia have continued to poor money into the Locally made cars, something that would not happen if they were to be canned.

There is a major falcon update in 2014, and that alone suggest that the falcon will be here for a while...

I'll ask again. Are you saying that mainstream media is completely incorrect? If your response could actually contain relevant facts rather than snide sidepieces that would bolster your case.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by Fiesta_Man69

I'll ask again. Are you saying that mainstream media is completely incorrect? If your response could actually contain relevant facts rather than snide sidepieces that would bolster your case.

Clearly, you either missed or ignored the comment posted in this thread by Ford:

Originally Posted by Sinead Phipps

Hey folks - here is our response to the rubbish that was printed in Fairfax Media today:

An article has run in today’s The Age newspaper, quoting Bob Graziano in relation to the need for manufacturing to support design and engineering. While the quote they have run is correct, the context and the implications they have placed around it are completely inaccurate and do not reflect – in any way – the context of the question or Bob’s response. The question was about design, not about manufacturing and to spin it the opposite way is an insult to the entire Ford Australia team. At no stage did Bob comment on or give any indication that manufacturing was no longer a vital part of our business.

Not to mention the other articles posted in this thread from independent sources that are less negative and more factual than the solitary "mainstream" example you keep harping on about.

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by Fiesta_Man69

If your response could actually contain relevant facts rather than snide sidepieces that would bolster your case.

I don't need to, there are plenty of articals linked in this thread, even Sinead Phipps responded to the dribble.

All Bob Graziano came out and said was that the concerns (Design, engineering and manufacture) don't nessasarly operate together, we can build cars here, whilst other products are being developed.

Originally Posted by Graziano

“We think you can have R&D without manufacturing, but it clearly helps to have manufacturing and we’re very fortunate to have both manufacturing, the R&D and a really stunning test facility as well.

“We’ve got the whole package here and that’s what we’re leveraging for the programs we are working on"

There’ll be no immediate change to the status quo. Ford is committed to an updated Falcon in 2014 and given the need to amortise the cost of that development – plus the introduction of Euro 5 emissions legislation two years later – the Falcon will remain in production for at least another four years, short of some unforeseeable catastrophe.

[pottery beige]

da internetz.. somewhere for sooks.. to sook..

Hey Sinead dont let all that bother you.. its just a resident sook...

[Sinead Phipps]

FYI - we have expressed our disagreement with the original Fairfax article today quite publicly and have also sent letters to the editor of both The Age and the SMH for publishing tomorrow. By necessity, those letters are pretty short but, presuming they are printed (and we can't guarantee that), they do share our position that we think the article takes Bob's quote out of context.

[bobthebilda]

Anyhow whats all the fuss about. There hasnt been one bit of news that the thrid biggest vehicle manufacturer in Australia (in terms of revenue) is going to close up in 2016. I am sure Volvo will let everyone know when they close their wacol plant.

[Bossxr8]

If they think Ecoboost will sell if people drive it, what are they doing to get people aware of it and into the showrooms?

Picking some stickers on a V8SC windscreen isn't going to do that. They either need to bite the bullet and spend some cash on advertising it or just accept the fact its never going to sell. Its had enough time to get word of mouth, and it hasn't done jack.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by Sinead Phipps

FYI - we have expressed our disagreement with the original Fairfax article today quite publicly and have also sent letters to the editor of both The Age and the SMH for publishing tomorrow. By necessity, those letters are pretty short but, presuming they are printed (and we can't guarantee that), they do share our position that we think the article takes Bob's quote out of context.

Five bucks says those spankers won't print them.

[MethodX]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

If they think Ecoboost will sell if people drive it, what are they doing to get people aware of it and into the showrooms?

Picking some stickers on a V8SC windscreen isn't going to do that. They either need to bite the bullet and spend some cash on advertising it or just accept the fact its never going to sell. Its had enough time to get word of mouth, and it hasn't done jack.

Put ecoboost on the geelong football club jumpers.
And run Ads during the games. That would help...