Best Motorbuys: March 13, 2020

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Ford has reassured the Federal Government it is in Australia to stay
and may be able to offer jobs to some of the laid-off Holden workers.
"From a Ford Australia standpoint, we
have a great model line-up here," Ms
Hart said.
"We have one of the top-selling
vehicles in the Ford Ranger, that is
designed and engineered right here in
Australia and doing so well for us.
"We have a great range of products
that seem to really resonate with our
customers here, which is such an
important part for us."
But the director of the Australian
Industrial Transformation Institute at
Flinders University, John Spoehr, said
the Holden brand may be a casualty of
the Trump era.
PHOTO: Holden's Commodore was at one stage Australia's best-selling car for 15 years.
(Supplied: State Library of South Australia)
Holden's US parent company
General Motors last month
announced it would retire the
iconic Holden brand and close down its
Australian operations, with about 600
employees set to lose their jobs.
Following the shock announcement,
Australian Federal Industry Minister
Karen Andrews called Ford's Australia
and New Zealand president and chief
executive, Kay Hart.
"She indicated very clearly to me that
Ford is as committed as ever to Australia
and that they continue to invest here,"
Ms Andrews said.
"She didn't give a never-ending
commitment and I would not expect
that from her.
"I asked that we kept in touch and she's
agreed to that."
Ms Andrews said Ford, formerly
Holden's major rival in Australia, also
appeared open to the possibility of
recruiting some of those facing job
losses at Holden.
Both Holden and Ford ended their
manufacturing operations in Australia
several years ago.
But Ford remains Australia's largest
automotive employer. It has more
than 2,000 engineers, designers and
technical and automotive specialists
working across four sites in Victoria.
The company said it had a further
$500 million worth of investment
planned in Australia for this year.
Ms Hart said the displaced Holden
workers may find opportunities at Ford.
"We have such a big design and
engineering team here in Australia," Ms
Hart said.
"We are hiring at the moment and I'm
sure that there's some great talent in
that Holden team.
"So we would definitely be looking, in
terms of if that skill set did fit with us."
Ms Hart said Ford also remained "firmly
committed" to its operations in Australia.
"The automotive industry is a global
industry that has tended to draw
the best skills and capabilities from
different parts of the world including
Australia," he said.
"I think US-based automotive companies
are under enormous pressure to deliver
to the US Government to re-shore jobs
to the US where they've got plants based
in other nations."
Ms Hart acknowledged that, as with the
Holden experience, long-term decisions
about the future of the company would
be made by Ford's parent company in
the United States.
"As a company, we will make that
decision in terms of what is right for
the corporation globally," she said.
"But at the moment, the Ford Motor
Company is extremely committed to
Australia."
Motoring journalist Toby Hagon put it
bluntly.
"As much as Ford is saying 'we are
here to stay', it was only a week ago
that Holden was saying the same
thing," he said.
By Alexandra Beech and Rachel Mealey
source www.abc.net.au/news
Page 12