Speculation that Australia's iconic Holden brand will be sold to a Chinese company is valid, but this will not save Australian jobs, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says China isn’t interested in protecting the Australian car assembly industry.
“What the Chinese want is the dealers and the technology. The Holden Commodore would make an ideal vehicle to sell from China to America, and the Chinese could probably retail it for around 30% cheaper than a Commodore built in Australia.”
“If the Chinese take over Holden, there will probably be a lot of assurances made about keeping the Australian plants going, but these will be largely empty promises. From day one the Chinese will start building a Holden plant in China and after a couple of years they’ll quietly close down their Australian assembly operation, leaving just a small research and development team behind. That’s what happened when Nanjing Automobile Corporation acquired the bankrupt British MG Rover company in 2005. There was a lot of talk about saving British jobs, but the bottom line is that MG Rover cars are now mostly made in China, with a token factory in England that employs a few hundred people.”
See also: Australian Car Industry Doomed