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Originally Posted by Smoke Pursuit
I said this in another thread. I believe we will see more car companies exit Australia over the next few years. Profits are way down, things like longer warranties to stay competitive are all costing them a fortune.
The other thing is dealerships are no where near as profitable as they used to be due to changes in consumer credit, which means franchisees are going back to manufacturers looking for bigger incentives to stay afloat. The industry is nothing like it was 5 - 10 years ago.
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There are a few others that come to mind that I could see exit the Australian market in the next year or so if the current economic climate hangs around longer than we think.
1. Genesis
2. Mahindra
3. Fiat
4. Citroen
5. Peugeot
6. Renault
7. Nissan
8. SsangYong
9. Chrysler (Not Jeep)
10. Alfa Romeo
I can almost see FCA being a two brand company, with Jeep and RAM, their only representation. Fiat and Alfa Romeo cars will go and their Fiat LCV's, the Doblo and Ducato vans could be rebadged as RAMs, like they are in the North and South American markets. After the 300 is finished, Chrysler has nothing left on offer and Dodge looks like it'll never make a return, despite the brand being in 'lets wait and see' mode for the Australian market.
While I've put Peugeot on the list, I think it's more likely we'll see Citroen go first. Citroen are only doing 400 vehicles a year in Australia now, so unless they, Inchcape do something special, I think its days are numbered.
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance will be interesting to watch. If Nissan gets it's way, it'll be Nissan and Mitsubishi only, leaving Renault out in the cold. Renault could pull out of Australia and maybe RHD markets altogether, Nissan could also exit, as silly as that sounds, but who would've thought we'd see Honda in this situation and I feel Nissan is in the same boat. It could just leave Mitsubishi in Australia as part of the old alliance group, with Renault a Euro only brand and Nissan a US and Chinese only brand.
Genesis, well this is just like watching Infiniti all over again. Infiniti will officially leave the Australian market this year, even though it was announced in 2019.
Mahinda will go the same way as Tata, old tech and old designs, along with not meeting emission laws, will see the brand go. Interesting Mahindra is actually the parent company of South Korean brand SsangYong, which made it's re-launch last year in Australia, but I think we'll find that the market has become too competitive and I wouldn't be surprised if they make a retreat again in the next few years.
This is just my opinion ……