Ford will shut down its Australian manufacturing altogether in the near future, according to a report from the International Business Times. If accurate, the news means that while the automaker will continue to sell vehicles in the country, its locally-produced models (such as the Falcon sedan and Territory crossover) will be no more.
"It's going to be a slow death, or nearly a death by 1,000 cuts for some of the suppliers," said Stephen Longley of PPB Advisory, a receiver for collapsed automotive suppliers. "There's been no announcements. The expectation though, is that this will happen.
"And without any announcements, all the people I deal with in the supply chain are assuming this is going to be the case. So decisions are being made on the basis that Ford Australia will definitely not be around from 2016."
