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Is The Falcon A Dead Duck? Should It Be?

The job losses announced this week at Ford Australia's Geelong and Broadmeadows manufacturing plants should surprise no-one. Least of all the Australian government. The Falcon has a problem, so Ford Australia's manufacturing operation has a


The job losses announced this week at Ford Australia's Geelong and Broadmeadows manufacturing plants should surprise no-one. Least of all the Australian government.

The Falcon has a problem, so Ford Australia's manufacturing operation has a problem. The Falcon, its sales attest, no longer excites the imagination of buyers - it's as simple as that.

Australian car buyers, private and fleet, have moved on from large sedans. And that's a problem for each of our three local manufacturers.

The traditional 'aussie-six' big sedan has been supplanted by lifestyle purchases: by crossovers, SUVs, 4X4s and dual-cab utes. Many of these purchases, most in fact, are large vehicles, but not large sedans.

That's the reality, and that's why Ford has to 'right-size' its workforce.

In accepting $34million in government co-investment, Ford Australia committed to retaining its manufacturing operations here until 2016.

It would not, and could not, commit to making no adjustments to its manufacturing workforce over that period - such a commitment would be suicide.

Last month, in June, Ford notched up 1431 Falcon sales. In the same month Toyota sold 4308 Hilux pickups - twin and single cabs.

Nissan sold 3034 Navaras, Mazda notched up 1955 sales for its CX-5 (a relative newcomer) and the Territory, a light in the wilderness for Ford's local manufacturing operations, garnered 1800 sales.

For Falcon, worthy though it is, the market - now saturated with choice - has moved.

In June, imported vehicles captured 98,801 sales. By comparison, locally manufactured vehicles from Ford, Holden and Toyota captured 13,765 total sales. 

Of course, Holden has a strong selling small car, the Cruze, plus a modest export program to bolster its operation.

Toyota, whose local Camry and Aurion are collectively behind both Holden and Ford in local market sales volumes, has reasonably large if not especially healthy export sales.

But Ford Australia has neither of these.

Globally, best practice vehicle manufacturing plants operate on a minimum 250,000 units annual output.

Holden, with maximum annual output from its Adelaide plant of 100,000 units, is, while very near its capacity, nevertheless managing to achieve best practice line-speeds and output.

Ford however, with 3850 sales for the the month of June for its Falcon, Falcon ute and Territory, is on a trajectory to an annual production of less than 50,000 units.

This, in modern car manufacturing, in such a competitive saturated market, is unsustainable in anything other than the short or medium term.

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