Ford pulls out of Japan and Indonesia

[Trump]

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/25/ford-...indonesia.html

And these markets are huge...

Way to go TPP.

[tranquilized]

Good on Japan I say for looking after their own people instead of a handful of U.S. Captains of Industry and leaving their market closed. These free trade agreements benefit almost no one and are the biggest rort going.

[FairmontGS]

Not worth their being there - sold less than 5000 cars in Japan last year and the market isn't going to change. Pfft.

[csv8]

Could we be next ?? sales of Ford Euro's is dismal???? maybe the Ranger will keep Ford in Australia ??? nothing else will..unless Ford have a big change in marketing etc..

[axe]

Sad thing is that the general Australian public genuinely believe that other countries don't protect their own car manufacturing industries.

Most people in the country whinge about a billion dollar industry assistance package when other countries are busily spending far more and implementing protectionist policies to protect and maintain their valuable infrastructure and engineering knowledge base.

[SpoolMan]

Originally Posted by axe

Sad thing is that the general Australian public genuinely believe that other countries don't protect their own car manufacturing industries.
.

America has whats known as the "chicken tax," 25 percent tariff imposed on imported pickups and commercial vans.

[cheap]

Maybe, the Japanese / Indo public don't see value in the Ford product? It kind of reads like the Australian Public losing faith and not buying Falcons.

All too easy to insist on protectionism, but it is ultimately the market that will make or break an industry, if the public aren't buying your product then there is little point.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Huge market with poor conditions for imports means there is no money in it for Ford.

Japan sounds similar to Korea where I think around 93% of cars on the road are locally produced.

Would you believe that Toyota only has around a .5% of the market in Korea yet they are neighbours.

I bet they will pull out of Korea next and concentrate their efforts on other fast developing superpowers like India and China.

[Ford_The_Win]

Originally Posted by axe

Sad thing is that the general Australian public genuinely believe that other countries don't protect their own car manufacturing industries.

Most people in the country whinge about a billion dollar industry assistance package when other countries are busily spending far more and implementing protectionist policies to protect and maintain their valuable infrastructure and engineering knowledge base.

I'm not sure it's that complicated. The Australian public, by and large, are pretty dumb. They don't know or care where their stuff comes from as long as it's cheap, which is why Hyundai cars sell so well and people's poorly built metricon houses are full of particle board furniture and LG appliances. Anything that makes stuff even cheaper, like reducing import tariffs and bringing everything over from China, keeps these people happy.

[GTLEGEND]

Example is Ford trying to export Falcon/Territory into Thailand. Any import into Thailand attracts a 50% duty if over a certain CC engine, which the Territory is. Those 100 or so Titanium Territories Ford exported last year had a $100K price tag because of this. But to import a Thai produced Ford into this country attracts no duty. Not a fair playing field so how is this Free trade...

[blakef6]

Japan has protected all of its industries for many years, and thats why they are world leaders in a lot of things

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by blakef6

Japan has protected all of its industries for many years, and thats why they are world leaders in a lot of things

And so it is how it should be. Globalisation, free trade, one world, new world order or whatever the hell it's called is overrated and nobody wins in the end... Australia will live to regret it's decision.

[Blem]

Originally Posted by blakef6

Japan has protected all of its industries for many years, and thats why they are world leaders in a lot of things

Japan is a basket case economically speaking.
Everlasting recession.

[blakef6]

Originally Posted by Blem

Japan is a basket case economically speaking.
Everlasting recession.

Its by no means a basket case. It isn't perfect, but the way world economics are, recessions are a normal part of the cycle. Japan is the 3rd largest GDP economy, and with an unemployment rate of 3.5% they are doing a lot better than most countries and the reason is because they have always protected their industries

[Franco Cozzo]

Lol @ Ford complaining about people protecting their own industry coming at the cost of American jobs.

Internal hatchet job on Falcon anyone?

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Lol @ Ford complaining about people protecting their own industry coming at the cost of American jobs.

Internal hatchet job on Falcon anyone?

The Falcon business case doesn't stack up.

Maybe if the Feds put in a couple of Billion it would ?

[mik]

meh .....business as usual, some countries wont take any **** as far as trading partners go.

[stevefreestyle]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

Not worth their being there - sold less than 5000 cars in Japan last year and the market isn't going to change. Pfft.

Yep, the Japanese are a homogeneous society (as opposed multi-cultural) and thus still have their own cultural & national identity, and they look after their own....

[tranquilized]

Originally Posted by stevefreestyle

Yep, the Japanese are a homogeneous society (as opposed multi-cultural) and thus still have their own cultural & national identity, and they look after their own....

Which I consider to be the opposite extreme to us and many other western countries. The sweet spot must be somewhere in the middle.

[kypez]

Originally Posted by stevefreestyle

Yep, the Japanese are a homogeneous society (as opposed multi-cultural) and thus still have their own cultural & national identity, and they look after their own....

Thats cause no one colonised Japan... Otherwise we'd have our own culture and national identity too...

OT, Ford is killing it in India. They are using the locally manufactured/CKD methods to avoid the 100% import duty. Kinda wonder why the Terri never made it to India. People would have bought it. Ford still has a premium brand reputation there.

[mik]

Originally Posted by tranquilized

Which I consider to be the opposite extreme to us and many other western countries. The sweet spot must be somewhere in the middle.

why must it ? i`d say it is their own decision as to where their cultural identity is , dont want to let foreigners in ? good luck to them i say , its not our decision..

[Brodes]

Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of the Americas and a former head of its Asia-Pacific operations, said that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should be told to open the country's automobile market.
"We hope the U.S. government will send a clear message that any future trade policy with Japan must ensure a level playing field and not come at the expense of American workers," Hinrichs said

...and Japan care about American jobs over theirs why??

[rjr]

Originally Posted by SpoolMan

America has whats known as the "chicken tax," 25 percent tariff imposed on imported pickups and commercial vans.

I remembered reading about that on Wikipedia a fair while ago, then when I wanted to refresh my memory recently I couldn't find it. I was starting to doubt myself.

Just looked up chicken tax now and there it was...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax

[Carrion]

Take that Japan

[stevefreestyle]

Originally Posted by kypez

Thats cause no one colonised Japan... Otherwise we'd have our own culture and national identity too...

.

Oh really?... Contrary to what you might believe, Australia had its own identity (intergrationist with no real immigration before 1948) before the introduction of Multiculturalism in the mid 1970's.

Multiculturalism is a relatively recent ideologically imposed phenomenon - introduced by an Italian migrant in the form of Al Grasby under the Whitlam Govt - who encouraged migrants to have more respect for their (older) country they left than ours. A bizzar policy of Cultural Chauvinism in reverse.

Any wonder why so many people do not respect australia - apart from what it can offer them. The corollary of which is buying foreign cars.

[Express]

A market for RHD cars lost.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Brodes

...and Japan care about American jobs over theirs why??

Lol, Ford abandon Australian workers to support Thai workers, its a business decision.
Japan make a business decision to support homegrown industry, Ford take their bat and ball and go home.

[NX74205]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

And so it is how it should be.

No, it isn't. Protectionism only results in fewer players in the market and less choice for the consumer, which in turn results in less competition and therefore less incentive to innovate and make better cars.

Foreign competition is a good thing.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by NX74205

No, it isn't. Protectionism only results in fewer players in the market and less choice for the consumer, which in turn results in less competition and therefore less incentive to innovate and make better cars.

Foreign competition is a good thing.

I used to work for Toyota, our biggest customers were asians.

Asians buy quality asian products.

Why would Japanese want foreign competition for innovation when they produce Toyota, Lexus, Nissan and Subaru, some of the best, in their own backyard.

Lets not forget, it was only 30 years ago that imports from Japan etc. were used to force the hand of the big locals to improve the quality of offerings in Australia, why on earth would Japan need Ford to help lift their game at home.

[FormulaFG]

Protectionism has worked in Japan. It didn't work here.

The Japanese psyche is different to the Australian one. The Japanese are perfectionists. Second best is not good enough. Failure brings shame. They have a natural desire to want to improve. Australians don't give a hoot. Near enough is good enough. I'm not gonna buy my own product cause someone else's is cheaper and that leaves more in my pocket for smokes.

Our industry would never have lifted its game if it were not for the foreign products. Ford need Japan. Japan doesn't need Ford