Ford halts Melbourne Falcon assembly as demand drops off

BroadyFord · 08-03-2011, 01:32 PM

Uh Oh!!

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...308-1blxu.html

Ford has temporarily shut down its car manufacturing operations for two days a week to address falling demand for its locally made Falcon and Territory models.

The car maker will ramp up to its full five-day cycle again on March 28 as it prepares to build an updated model of its Territory SUV, which will feature a more fuel-efficient diesel engine variant that customers have been requesting for years.

Ford spokeswoman Sinead McAlary said the down-time — which will primarily affect the Broadmeadows assembly plant — was necessary ‘‘to balance out our inventories’’.:slaps head:

The Geelong-based casting and engine plants will also be affected, although Ms McAlary said because it worked ahead of the production cycle their ‘‘down days’’ could be different or fewer than the manufacturing workers.
Ford Australia has suffered declining sales in recent years of both the Falcon large car and Territory SUV.

Advertisement: Story continues below It has been speculated that the next generation of the Falcon could be built from 2015 on US-supplied underpinnings, or even fully imported from the US. Ford has declined to comment directly on the Falcon’s future beyond the current model.

The managing director of GM Holden, Mike Devereux, has said he believes it is necessary for car makers to produce at least 100,000 cars annually to achieve the economies of scale needed to generate profits.

Last year, Ford Australia built 38,615 Falcons and 11,558 Territorys for a total of 50,173 cars. In the same time Holden built just 57,645 Commodores, but from next month will add a locally-produced version of the Cruze small car that is expected to add at least 30,000 sales to the company’s domestic total.

BroadyFord · 08-03-2011, 01:39 PM

From GoAuto:

Ford cuts production to three days a week

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25784D00089972

Falcon, Territory sales slip prompts Ford Australia to slice March production

8 March 2011
By RON HAMMERTON
FORD Australia has cut production at its Victorian factories to three days a week to cope with a backlog of stock after slow sales so far this year.

As rival Holden is picking up the production pace on two shifts at its South Australian factory in advance of the sales launch of the locally made Cruze small car, Ford has sliced six production days out of its schedule this month under the weight of excess stocks of Falcon and Territory.

Year to date, sales of the Falcon sedan – Ford’s top seller in Australia for more than 50 years – are down 43.5 per cent.

Last month, Ford Australia sold 1572 Falcon sedans – a decline of 37.5 per cent on the same month last year – compared with Holden’s 3829 Commodores, a decline of 2.2 per cent.

Sales of the Ford Territory SUV, which is built in the same platform as the Falcon, slipped 10.1 per cent last month, to 779 vehicles. Falcon Ute sales were down 22.4 per cent on February 2010, to 591 units.

Ford’s imported vehicles, such as the Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo and Ranger, have been taking up the slack, putting overall Ford sales up one per cent in the first two months of 2011 compared to the same period last year.

The production cuts at Ford’s factories at Broadmeadows and Geelong were confirmed to GoAuto by Ford Australia public affairs director Sinead McAlary, who said the company had made some adjustments to the production schedule in March to balance inventories.

“We are working three days per week for the first three weeks but will return to full production in the last week of March, ahead of the introduction of the new Territory,” she said.

Ms McAlary said down days had been scheduled for both the main assembly plant at Broadmeadows and the Geelong engine plant, but the Geelong casting factory was not affected.

“Employees are paid either 60-50 per cent of usual pay for the non-production days, but they are able to use annual leave and other entitlements to top this up if they wish,” she said.

Ford will be hoping that the sales slide of its local vehicles will be reversed by updates in the pipeline for release this year.

The Territory is just weeks away from a facelift that will include its first diesel engine, a 2.7-litre V6 formerly used in Land Rover, Jaguar and Peugeot vehicles made in Europe.

As well, Falcon will get a shot in the arm later in the year with the arrival of the first four-cylinder model powered by Ford’s global EcoBoost petrol engine.

This advanced turbocharged 2.0-litre engine – gradually being rolled out around the world in various Ford, Range Rover and Volvo models – is expected to deliver sharper fuel economy without major performance deficiencies over the current Australian-made 4.0-litre inline six-cylinder petrol engine.

The concern for Ford Australia management is the long downward trend of both the Falcon and the Australian large-car market as a whole.

In the past decade, Falcon sales have slid by half – from 20,000 in 2000 to 29,516 last year.

Against this background, Ford Motor Company is wrestling with a decision on the next Falcon, and, in the longer term, Australian production.

^^ It doesn't matter what anyone here says or what perspective they try to put it in. There's no sugar-coating this: THINGS - ARE - BAD!!!

tweeked · 08-03-2011, 01:43 PM

FG 335 GT's will become very collectable - I fear..............

MickyB · 08-03-2011, 01:51 PM

This is beginning to have a Mitsubishi 380 feel about it. Wish the press would actually write something positive for a change.

SteveJH · 08-03-2011, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tweeked

FG 335 GT's will become very collectable - I fear..............

I think they need to get FG2 out ASAP...

Hopefully they'll still be making the Falcon by the time I can afford to buy a new or almost new one.

fairBA · 08-03-2011, 02:05 PM

Holden did a similar thing - they gave staff the choice of downsizing or less hours/shifts. They choose less hours/shifts. They seem to ok now.

**Polyal** · 08-03-2011, 02:06 PM

Its only for a couple of weeks people..

galaxy xr8 · 08-03-2011, 02:08 PM

It's allright the Goverment will prop Ford Aus up if need be, no need to stress.

FPV8U · 08-03-2011, 02:09 PM

Not looking good thats for sure, hopefully they will start to do some promotional deals to keep things rolling over.

They really need FG2 & the New Territory to get things moving again.

XD 351 Ute · 08-03-2011, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveJH

I think they need to get FG2 out ASAP...

Hopefully they'll still be making the Falcon by the time I can afford to buy a new or almost new one.

Agreed, I'm about 18 months away from getting one.

Ed

Gobes32 · 08-03-2011, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by galaxy xr8

It's allright the Goverment will prop Ford Aus up if need be, no need to stress.

Don't know if that was sarcasm or not. I am almost certain that the days of large handouts are gone. If Territory does not sell, it will be the beginning of the end........

BroadyFord · 08-03-2011, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fairBA

Holden did a similar thing - they gave staff the choice of downsizing or less hours/shifts. They choose less hours/shifts. They seem to ok now.

That was during the black days of the GFC. We're now back to economic growth.

2011G6E · 08-03-2011, 02:19 PM

Understandable.

Petrol prices are biting, and while the Falcon gets good economy for it's size, "small cars" aren't "small" anymore. While we were getting a towbar fitted to our G6E, they loaned us a Mondeo diesel automatic. You know, to be brutally honest, it was great...plenty of interior room, it went like a cut snake, and actually handled really well. A friend of mine has a Mondeo XR5 turbo and it has plenty of luxury stuff and toys to play with.
You know, if we had driven a Mondeo first, we might well have bought one instead of the Falcon.

Gone are the days of smaller cars being hopeless, underpowered, boring, featureless, shoddily-made crapbuckets. they're perfectly acceptable alternatives to the slightly bigger cars from the same maker, and that presents a problem for, in this case, Ford.
You can see it at dealerships...positively savage price cutting to shift Falcons off the showroom floor, up-speccing cars and offering options for free, all sorts of deals to move stock.

I don't see this ending well...the Mistubishi 380 was a damn good car, nothing wrong with it, but it went the way of the Dodo because of market forces. The overseas head honchos have had their eyes on local Holden and Ford markets and sales figures for decades now, and sooner or later they're going to place an ultimatum on the table and tell us what they want us to do here in Australia.

bobthebilda · 08-03-2011, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gobes32

Don't know if that was sarcasm or not. I am almost certain that the days of large handouts are gone. If Territory does not sell, it will be the beginning of the end........

Agreed. As many political commentators have said before, most politicians want to see the industry die, they just dont want it to happen during their government. If the Australian government wanted to prop them up more, then all they need to do is buy everything produced on thurdays and fridays.

Its a shame that the Victorian government has pressured the Feds so much to bail out the industry, and yet Vic government departments, spend alot less of Victorian made cars than they do on South Australian made cars.

Unfortunately, it looks like the rot has set in, as was done to Mitsubishi. You get the falling sales, you get the bad press, and everything snowballs from there

**Polyal** · 08-03-2011, 02:28 PM

Agreed with 2011G6E and bobthebilda (for once

)...but...

What is worse about the last few months is FoA's silence. They have some products about to come out that can really help turn the tide but has anyone heard anything official other than some random bits online...NOPE!

Honestly they need a really good quick add about what FoA is really doing and means to Australia (you know, the ones that make you want to almost vomit..like Holdens)...we are about to launch x, y and z in 2011...we are not going anywhere kind of stuff...otherwise everyone gets nervous very quickly.

BroadyFord · 08-03-2011, 02:36 PM

Sorry to sound like a broken record but the only thing that can save Ford is exports.

The next Falcon (assuming there is one) IMO ideally should be Ford's new global large car with the RHD version being manufactured here for RHD markets such as Australia, NZ, UK, South Africa etc while the LHD should be built in the US or Canada. Unfortunately however the Australian dollar has pretty much eroded that prospect for the forseeable future. One can also only question why the Territory is not sold in overseas markets considering how great it is.

If there is a new Falcon in 2015 and Ford go down the same path of building just for Australia then they have dug their own grave. 2015 is their last chance to get it right!

Whitey-AMG · 08-03-2011, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FPV8U

Not looking good thats for sure, hopefully they will start to do some promotional deals to keep things rolling over.

They really need FG2 & the New Territory to get things moving again.

The decline has been going on for a while......with petrol prices again heading north of 1.50 per litre......the buying public are buying smaller more fuel efficient vehicles......especially DIESEL variants. Its amazing the number of GOLF TDI and CRUZE diesel powered cars I'm seeing on the roads lately. The territory Diesel may bring FORD a saving grace , but alas , it may be time to face the music for the local Falc.......on borrowed time methinks.

**DJM83** · 08-03-2011, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Its only for a couple of weeks people..

Tip of the iceberg though maybe....

**Polyal** · 08-03-2011, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BroadyFord

Sorry to sound like a broken record but the only thing that can save Ford is exports.

The next Falcon (assuming there is one) IMO ideally should be Ford's new global large car with the RHD version being manufactured here for RHD markets such as Australia, NZ, UK, South Africa etc while the LHD should be built in the US or Canada. Unfortunately however the Australian dollar has pretty much eroded that prospect for the forseeable future. One can also only question why the Territory is not sold in overseas markets considering how great it is.

If there is a new Falcon in 2015 and Ford go down the same path of building just for Australia then they have dug their own grave. 2015 is their last chance to get it right!

Maybe not exports directly, but being shared off a common platform would save alot of cost. The answer lies in a GWRD IMO, whether it happens or not is the key. The system certainly cant continue past this iteration as it stands. Perhaps the falcon will become a premium/sports sedan (G6, XR, FPV) and the other models being pushed/replaced with the focus/mondeo...its all to high up in the air to really be confident in any direction at the moment.

But people have to remember that the Territory is based off the falcon, and the utes etc so we have to look at the bigger picture...not just how many XT's fleets are not buying.

Fords situation is more unique and complex to that of GMH's and the commy. I believe if the Falcon was a standalone product (sedan/wagon) like the commy then we probably would have had more of an answer by now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJM83

Tip of the iceberg though maybe....

Maybe being the key word..Ford have said nothing about future plans etc (which is half the problem, and what has been said on the side isn't great).

PR chick had a clear opportunity to reword what she said into something about "adjusting for new models about to be released..x, y and z"...but chose to use that generic line.

The public still have no idea about how much work PD does, for example T6 and the Indian Fiesta..all stuff to be proud of and nothing is really said. It doesn't relate directly to this market (well T6 will)..but its still worth sprouting.

Wretched · 08-03-2011, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickyB

This is beginning to have a Mitsubishi 380 feel about it. Wish the press would actually write something positive for a change.

Positive about what?
May be Ford should do something or acheive something to encourage it.

BENT_8 · 08-03-2011, 02:51 PM

Whats really worrying is that Fords overall numbers have actually risen, albeit only 1%.
This means that the Falcon/terri sales arent low due to buyers waiting for the updates, but simply buying the smaller more efficient models.

I cant see Ford turning this around unfortunately regardless of the diesal/4T offerings.

MickyB · 08-03-2011, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wretched

Positive about what?
May be Ford should do something or acheive something to encourage it.

Well the cars are pretty good, they could start with that.

Gas N Go · 08-03-2011, 03:09 PM

I was in South Africa 2 weeks ago and saw a number of Territories on the road??? I had no idea Ford exported them overseas??? They should be doing this with the Territory and falcon to help justify its production.

BENT_8 · 08-03-2011, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickyB

Well the cars are pretty good, they could start with that.

Its not a case of getting buyers in the door, the overall numbers show there is traffic in the showrooms.
Falcon/Terri are great vehicles, no doubt, but with sales down now could you imagine what they'd be like if they advertised strongly the upcoming versions available at the update, buyers would hang out for them, they may attract some who are buying the smaller Fords, but their current stock would be left sitting in the showrooms to a greater extent than it is now.

bobthebilda · 08-03-2011, 03:16 PM

I dare say all the manufacturers are doing it tougher now than they were during the GFC, its not just unique to Ford Oz.

December 2008 and Jan 2009 and Feb 2009 australian production totals (Ford, Holden, Toyota) were 47023 cars. And that was in the midst of the GFC.

The last 3 months have seen 43052 cars made in Australia. At these numbers, I would assume camry exports have been decimated, thus calling into question the viability of Toyotas camry and aurion local production.

Wretched · 08-03-2011, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickyB

Well the cars are pretty good, they could start with that.

Here is just a few that you can view on the web.....

http://www.carsales.com.au/reviews/2...r6-turbo-23137
http://news.drive.com.au/drive/new-c...217-1ax9l.html
http://news.drive.com.au/drive/new-c...216-18zdw.html
http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor...820-136ch.html
http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/new...12_first_drive
http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/new...rs_first_drive
http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/new...ta_first_drive
http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/new...comparo_review
http://www.caradvice.com.au/85953/fp...ote-v8-review/
http://www.caradvice.com.au/100205/f...-turbo-review/

Joe5619 · 08-03-2011, 03:18 PM

Interesting times ahead!!!

God hopes Ford have some plan in place!! Next Gen Ford Large car is still 4-5-6 years away, FG2/Eecoboost/LiLPG is still 7-8-9 months away.. What are they going to do in the mean time??

You can't keep running like this & as someone has said on here, current config at the plant is 2 Falcons to 1 Territ.. So they can't even build alot of territ to save them as the Falcon will get in the way becuase of this 2 to 1 thing.. A rebalance to 1 to 1 in the short term is really, really needed if you ask me.. But I guess new territ also needs to fire for this to work..

prydey · 08-03-2011, 03:20 PM

Quote:

The managing director of GM Holden, Mike Devereux, has said he believes it is necessary for car makers to produce at least 100,000 cars annually to achieve the economies of scale needed to generate profits.

Last year, Ford Australia built 38,615 Falcons and 11,558 Territorys for a total of 50,173 cars. In the same time Holden built just 57,645 Commodores, but from next month will add a locally-produced version of the Cruze small car that is expected to add at least 30,000 sales to the company’s domestic total.

so even the holden boss seems to indicate that unless cruze can almost match commodore for sales, they won't achieve the necessary sales numbers to be profitable.

the mistake many make is to assume that the costs for the 2 company's are similar. my guess is ford can afford to sell less cars but that is just my guess. local manufacturing numbers weren't that much different between the 2 prior to cruze.

MickyB · 08-03-2011, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wretched

Here is just a few that you can view on the web.....

http://www.carsales.com.au/reviews/2...r6-turbo-23137
http://news.drive.com.au/drive/new-c...217-1ax9l.html
http://news.drive.com.au/drive/new-c...216-18zdw.html
http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor...820-136ch.html
http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/new...12_first_drive
http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/new...rs_first_drive
http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/new...ta_first_drive
http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/new...comparo_review
http://www.caradvice.com.au/85953/fp...ote-v8-review/
http://www.caradvice.com.au/100205/f...-turbo-review/

That's all well and good, what I mean is that they can shelve the 'doom and gloom' articles that seem to be popping every few days. It's kind of like a self fulfilling prophecy, that has a snowball effect, as we saw with Mitsubishi.

**Polyal** · 08-03-2011, 03:33 PM

I reckon thats a fair assumption considering Ford turned a small profit by selling less cars than Holden recently.