Ford halts Melbourne Falcon assembly as demand drops off

[BroadyFord]

Uh Oh!!

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...308-1blxu.html

Ford has temporarily shut down its car manufacturing operations for two days a week to address falling demand for its locally made Falcon and Territory models.

The car maker will ramp up to its full five-day cycle again on March 28 as it prepares to build an updated model of its Territory SUV, which will feature a more fuel-efficient diesel engine variant that customers have been requesting for years.

Ford spokeswoman Sinead McAlary said the down-time — which will primarily affect the Broadmeadows assembly plant — was necessary ‘‘to balance out our inventories’’.:slaps head:

The Geelong-based casting and engine plants will also be affected, although Ms McAlary said because it worked ahead of the production cycle their ‘‘down days’’ could be different or fewer than the manufacturing workers.
Ford Australia has suffered declining sales in recent years of both the Falcon large car and Territory SUV.

Advertisement: Story continues below It has been speculated that the next generation of the Falcon could be built from 2015 on US-supplied underpinnings, or even fully imported from the US. Ford has declined to comment directly on the Falcon’s future beyond the current model.

The managing director of GM Holden, Mike Devereux, has said he believes it is necessary for car makers to produce at least 100,000 cars annually to achieve the economies of scale needed to generate profits.

Last year, Ford Australia built 38,615 Falcons and 11,558 Territorys for a total of 50,173 cars. In the same time Holden built just 57,645 Commodores, but from next month will add a locally-produced version of the Cruze small car that is expected to add at least 30,000 sales to the company’s domestic total.