Holden engine factory and Commodore in doubt beyond 2017

[csv8]

Holden engine factory and Commodore in doubt beyond 2017

Joshua Dowling, National Motoring Editor, in Detroit
News Limited Network
January 15, 2013 6:25AM


More than 300 jobs at risk in Port Melbourne facility that makes V6 engines
Refurbishing factory would cost more than shutting it down and paying redundancies
Commodore future in doubt after 2017, may be replaced by front-drive mid-size sedan on Adelaide production line





THE Holden Commodore could be replaced by a four-cylinder front-drive sedan similar to the Toyota Camry beyond 2017 - putting the jobs of 320 workers that make the Commodore's V6 engine in jeopardy.

About 320 workers assemble the V6 engine in Port Melbourne before it is trucked to the Adelaide factory that builds the cars. The engines are also exported to other General Motors car factories in Thailand, China, Korea and Mexico.

But most car makers are dropping V6 engines from their line-ups and replacing them with four-cylinder engines. And Holden is unlikely to build the Commodore beyond 2017, instead adopting a global car from the General Motors world.

It would cost Holden more than $300 million to upgrade its Port Melbourne factory to build four-cylinder engines, but redundancies would cost of fraction of this amount.

Holden already imports all the four-cylinder engines for its locally made Cruze small car from factories with much bigger production outputs than Holden, which makes only 95,000 to 105,000 engines a year, most of which are exported.

The boss of Holden Mike Devereux told Australian reporters at the Detroit motor show overnight: "We have decisions to make. A significant amount of capital investment would be required to upgrade the engine plant (to build four-cylinder engines)."

He said the engine factory would remain viable for the remaining "lifecycle" of the V6 engine which runs to 2017, but what happens beyond that deadline is unclear.

"We do have a full production plan for the life of that engine ... but then we do have some serious decisions to make."
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/n...-1226554002811

[Jason[98.EL]]

see this thread

The title of the other thread could be better though

Jason

[Bossxr8]

Looks like that douchebag Dowling took a pasting about his anti-ford bias, and wrote an article trashing Holden to make it appear like he isn't.