While most Holden Vehicle Operationswill maintain two shifts, the auto maker will introduce a single shift in general assembly that will maintain volume while reducing build time and cutting costs on each vehicle.
Despite a year-over-year sales increase in January, an industry official warns that higher taxes could contribute to a drop in deliveries from nearly 90,000 last year to 76,000 in full-year 2012.
The auto maker billed the diesel-powered Fiesta ECOnetic as the most fuel-efficient vehicle available in Australia when it was released in October 2009, but monthly sales have averaged only 20 units.
The auto maker’s operations in neighboring Asian counties, disrupted by parts shortages stemming from last fall’s massive flooding in Thailand, also are returning to planned production levels.
The plan’s third phase includes continued development of alternative-energy vehicles and boosting production from 2 million this year to at least 3 million in 2014.
The auto maker in 2010 targeted a 5% market share in Thailand by 2013, but reached that level last year. Its goal is a 6% share this year and 7% in 2013.
Defenders of government funding say the automotive and parts-making industries employ more than 200,000 Australians, and many of those jobs could disappear without continued assistance.
The auto maker believes recent flooding in Thailand will increase demand for commercial vehicles. It is mulling whether to import the trucks or assemble locally.
Rising wages and falling vehicle prices mean an average worker can now buy a luxury car such as a Porsche with 83 weeks' wages rather than the 2.5 years of earnings needed 10 years ago.