The Rise And Fall Of Ford Australia

Welcome to Big Truck Time! 🚛 On 7 October 2016 at 10:45am the final Ford Falcon XR6 — serial number FXR6156778 — moved down the Broadmeadows assembly line for the last time. Workers gathered along the line, some with cameras, others simply watching. There was no music. No speeches. Just the steady hum of tools and the scrape of boots on concrete. A few hands lingered on the blue duco, tracing the Falcon badge one last time. By midnight the gates closed. 91 years of Australian manufacturing — over. It started in a converted wool store in Geelong in 1925. Ford Canada's Australian outpost assembling Model T knock-down kits shipped from North America, each crate carrying the promise of something new. By the end of that first year 800 people worked at the Geelong plant — tradesmen, migrants, women in bookkeeping and inspection roles. Post-war government policy forced Ford beyond simple assembly — local content thresholds rising to 85%, forcing investment in stamping, body panels and engine casting. Ford was no longer assembling Australia's cars. It was building them. 1956 — Ford's board approved a new facility at Broadmeadows, north of Melbourne. Ground broken 1958. First Falcon off the line 28 June 1960. Production ramping to over 150,000 units a year by the early 1970s. 1972 — the XA Falcon became the first fully Australian-designed and built car to meet the government's 85% local content requirement. Then came Bathurst. The GTHO Phase III — 5.8 litre V8, 300 horsepower, just 300 units built — winning Mount Panorama in 1971 and 1972. Surviving examples now fetch over A$1 million at auction. The car the government briefly considered banning became a national treasure. In the Broadmeadows body shop in 1976 there were 700 workers on a single shift. Boris Zaroje started as an apprentice sheet metal worker that February. He would stay for more than five decades. Then the numbers turned. Falcon sales fell from 31,632 units in 2008 to 14,345 in 2012 — a collapse of more than 50% in four years. A persistently high Australian dollar made imported cars cheaper. Ford's Australian manufacturing costs were double those of Europe and nearly four times Ford in Asia. Total losses over five years — A$600 million. 23 May 2013 — Ford Australia CEO Bob Graziano called the Broadmeadows workforce into the canteen. Manufacturing would end in October 2016. 1,200 jobs gone. Former Ford global president Jac Nasser had warned of a domino effect — if one of the three major car makers left, the supplier network would collapse for all of them. Within months his warning became reality. Holden announced closure December 2013. Toyota followed February 2014. Miller Steel entered administration. Hundreds of smaller suppliers folded. An industry employing hundreds of thousands of Australians for 60 years was gone in four years. The final Falcon was sold at auction to Melbourne collector Mark Jeffs for A$81,500. It went straight into storage. Ford Australia had built more than 5.9 million vehicles since 1925. "Our costs are double that of Europe and nearly four times Ford in Asia. The business case simply did not stack up." What was your favourite Falcon — and should Australia have done more to save its car industry? If you love trucks, roadtrains, roaring engines, and everything that keeps the highways alive — you’re in the right place. From powerful machines hauling massive loads to the raw beauty of diesel engines at work, this channel is all about the heart and soul of trucking. 👉 Hit that Subscribe button so you never miss the latest videos from the world of big rigs and road power! 📨 For business inquiries or collaborations, feel free to contact me at: [email protected] #trucks #trucking #truckdrivers #truckers #roadtrains #roadtrainsaustralia #australia #outback