There has been a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the future of Ford Australia over the past seven days, with local boss Bill Osborne resigning and the company axing 350 workers.
But if you are to believe Ford’s global boss, Alan Mulally, the local operation’s future has never looked brighter.
He says Ford Australia has a unique opportunity to become a key player in a new, less Detroit-centric Ford, where the company leverages its global network to build cars that are more relevant to current customer tastes.
His plan is “to create a viable complete business in Australia - the creation, the design, the manufacturing, the support, exporting to the Asia-Pacific region. We think Australia is uniquely positioned, plus we have 80 years of history here. Australia is a tremendous opportunity for us,” he says.
But one slice of history that may disappear is the Falcon’s rear-wheel-drive platform. Mulally says the company is yet to decide whether its next generation of large cars will drive the front, rear or all four wheels.
Mulally’s vision, which he calls “One Ford”, is to break down the traditional structure of the company, which has historically been made up of regional operations jealously guarding their own interests, sometimes to the detriment of the common good.
For those who know a bit about Ford history, the plan sounds a lot like the one Australian Jac Nasser hatched almost a decade ago.
But Mulally says there’s a crucial difference with the current plan.
“Maybe the difference is that we’re doing it,” he says.
Mulally says Ford Australia is being groomed as a centre of engineering expertise and a manufacturing base for a range of vehicles, from the Falcon and Territory through to the Ranger ute and the Focus.
He says Ford will continue to use the Australian operation’s expertise in developing large cars for “as far as I can see into the future”.
But the Focus small car (to be built in Australia from 2011) is set to become increasingly important to the local operation as this car – and not the Falcon - will spearhead any future Ford export program from Australia.
Ford believes the smaller Focus has greater export potential because it will appeal more to the Asian markets, which are tipped to consume 30 million cars a year - mostly small cars - by the year 2017.
Sounds like a good place to export a small diesel passenger car that uses just 5.6 litres per 100km.
Mulally certainly didn’t give the impression he was coming to Australia to turn out the lights.
And if you look at Ford’s business plan going forward, it looks reasonably robust, with four separate models – Falcon, Falcon ute, Territory and Focus - being produced in the one plant.
What do you think of Mulally’s vision? Is it sustainable or is it too little, too late? And will a front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive Falcon fly?
Does Ford Australia have a future and should the Australian Government kick in funds to keep it viable in the short term, until Focus production comes on line?
Richard Blackburn
On April 1st, 2008 significant modifications to road safety regulations in the Canadian provinces of Québec and Nova Scotia went into effect. CTV.ca reports that handheld cellular phones are now verboten while at the wheel, though hands free devices are still tolerated. Nova Scotia will begin ticketing the offense immediately, while Québec has allowed for a three-month grace periods in which offenders will only receive stern warnings and moralizing sermons. The first offense in Nova Scotia will cost $165, while costing $80-$110 and three demerit points in Québec. Still not satisfied, road safety advocate Jean-Marie de Koeninck argues that “[h]ands-free is just as dangerous. (But) by forbidding the hand-held it does send a signal that there is a problem with the cellphone, there’s a problem with concentration”. Meanwhile, the same traffic safety bill in Québec also doubled all speeding fines , with new suspension of license provisions for those caught traveling at 40 km/h over the limit in under-60 zones, 50 km/h in 60-90 over zones, and 60 km/h over in 100+ zones. All in the name of safety, presumably.
