According to SMH (2007) “Toyota has reassured its 4,000 Melbourne workers their jobs are safe, for now, amid fears rising market pressures will force its Australian plant to close”.

The automotive industry of Australia is full of uncertainties so it’s certainly not fresh news to hear about the above speculation. With the strong Australian dollar, it’s cheap for us to import cars and even cheaper with the import tariffs at the level that they are currently. Add to this the high wages that are paid to the workforce in the Australian manufacturing industry and we have a situation that is hard to compare to the cheap, efficient Asian model.

As I recall, the tariff was introduced to encourage innovation and increased competition in the Australian industry. However, the Asian organisations have lead the way with quite a margin.

Commentators have suggested for Australia’s industry to survive, manufacturers have to get innovative and attract market segments away from the current, superior offerings. I suggest this is initiated by chipping away at the “green” segment.