Do You Recall The Holden ? Well They Have Shut Down, After 150 Years

This is from The Asia Times here.

GM kills Australia’s Holden brand 

General Motors to wind down engineering, design and sales operations

Aussie brand unable to compete against global imports

February 17, 2020

GM to scrap struggling Australian car brand Holden

company more than 150 years old

created Australia’s first local mass-produced vehicle 

dominant brand for decades, becoming cultural touchstone 

2017 followed Ford, Toyota moving production offshore

marking end of car manufacturing in Australia

600 people would lose their jobs 

unable to make Holden competitive and profitable in the long-term

global consolidation of automotive industry

increasingly challenging to support just two markets (Aussie & NZ)

1.6 million Holden cars still on the roads

– AFP

My comments : This is for the note of Dr M who still has visions of the 3rd Malaysian car etc. Even General Motors the American automotive giant cannot sustain their car manufacturing anymore. 

This is despite Aussie workers already having mastered waking up in the morning and going to work on time, less goofing around, less taking breaks, less being absent from work, less stopping work for the flimsiest of reasons etc. (We have yet to fully overcome these issues here in Malaysia.)

GM has also sold its car plants in Thailand. The buyer is Chinese. 

Holden in Australia cannot sustain against Japanese, Korean and now Chinese imports.

Car manufacturing has always been a volume business. They need huge sales volumes to sustain the R&D that is constantly required to give the consumer a newer and better product. 

Then there is China.

I feel the only way that we in Malaysia can participate in the international car business is by being part of the global supply chain. Malaysia is already a smaller hub for car manufacturing in South East Asia. Some Japanese brands (Honda) and now Geely of China base their production here. So does Mercedes Benz but on a smaller scale. 

We need to encourage local Malaysian companies (not the foolish GLCs please) to become part of this global supply chain. 

The government must facilitate Malaysian companies marrying with foreign car makers to design and manufacture auto parts here. Without looking at race, religion etc.  

Its ok to throw in some subsidies, tax breaks, R&D tie ups with local universities (public and private universities - again without looking at race, religion etc).  

The car business is going to become even more high tech and the supply chains will become more international and complicated. We already have a strong toe hold in this business.  We must encourage more market forces to play.