In an outcome likely to push any remaining Mt Panorama Ford bogans into a roaring V8 rage, the AFR is reporting that:
GM Holden and Toyota might benefit from Ford’s decision to close its Victorian factories in 2016 because it has freed up federal cash already budgeted for car industry assistance.
As a result, the federal government might not have to increase overall car industry assistance to satisfy demands by GM Holden for more cash to keep its Adelaide assembly plant operating until 2022.
The Automotive Transition Scheme makes payments to the three manufacturers on the basis of production numbers, research and development expenditure and investment in plant and equipment.
Budgeted through to 2020, it is the successor to industry transition plans put in place as tariff protection fell from more than 50 per cent to an average 3.5 per cent in 2013.
News Limited media this week reported two figures of $60 million and $265 million for additional cash being sought by GMH over and above $275 million already promised to the company by federal and state governments.
In return for the $275 million “co-investment”, GMH had pledged to invest more than $1 billion to make successors to the Commodore and Cruze in Adelaide until at least 2022.2 jobs.
