The early days of car manufacturing in Australia

Question:

What cars were manufactured by car industry in australia and what materials they used.
 

The car industry in Australia started in the 20th century. Geographically, Australia is isolated from the rest of the world and therefore the Australians have focussed on manufacturing their own cars. They have been very much active in this field and they are well equipped with advanced technologies which have helped them in the long run to manufacture spectacular and magnificent cars not only for Australia but for the entire world.  Ford Company was the first major manufacturer of cars in Australia and the first popular mass production car was produced by the Company, Holden in 1948. Toyota has also contributed towards the car industry by building innumerable cars over the years. The car industry in Australia has produced huge amount of cars over the years and the manufacturers of car in Australia are known for their style and design. The car industry of Australia has built its reputation for exporting the most stylish and technologically advanced cars (Snell, 2016).

The different phases of car manufacturing have to be looked into in order to inquire what kinds of car have been manufactured in Australia. The years over which various kinds of cars have been manufactured by the car industry can be   categorized into the following phases:

In 1896, phaeton, the first steam car was built. Harley Tarrant released the first petrol-powered car by 1901. The car industry was dominated by the Holden Motors and it led in the field of car manufacturing in Australia (Gollan et al., 2013).

During the early 1950s, cylinder cars were prevalent in the streets of Australia. But these cars were shipped from the foreign countries. Holden, at that started to manufacture cars which were more rugged than the small 4 cylinder cars. Following the invention of the tubeless tyres, Holden released a brand new car in 1956 named as the Holden FE. Holden was the primary manufacturer of cars during this period and 1 of every 3 cars in Australia was a car manufactured by Holden. With the advancement in technology, Holden offered transmitter radios in their cars. Ford on the other hand was manufacturing the popular muscle cars. Ford and Holden were the main manufacturers of car in this era (“The Holden car in Australia | australia.gov.au”, 2016).

The 4 cylinder cars which were prevalent in the 50’s started disappearing and were taken over by the 6 cylinder cars in Australia in this period. Holden occupied the market with the release of iconic cars one after another. The famous HD model was launched by Holden followed by the release of Holden HR. Disk brakes were equipped in the HD mode, seat belts were introduced and other innovative measures such as  introduction of windscreen washers. Holden made a mark in the field of manufacturing cars and rose head and shoulders above all other manufacturers in the nation. Ford, on the other hand was finding it difficult to cope up with Holden because most of the parts which it was using in the cars had to be imported from foreign and therefore it had to pay a lot of import tax which enhanced the cost price of the cars (Snell, 2016).

The dominance of Holden and the emergence of Ford

This period saw the modernisation of the 6 cylinder cars with 2 door coupe facilities. Safety measure like introduction of rear seat belt was initiated by Holden and could be found in all the cars manufactured by Holden during this period. In this period lot of new ideas and innovations emerged from the minds of manufacturers and level and quality of cars were enhanced. Safeties of drive were focussed on and all the manufacturers started to introduce new methods and features in their cars to attract customers (“The Holden car in Australia | australia.gov.au”, 2016).

This period saw the implementation of laws relating to the pollution which was made for the car industry. A fuel crisis was also going on and all the car manufacturers had to focus on manufacturing fuel efficient cars. The Holden Commodore was introduced by Holden which was an excellent fuel efficient car. Ford, on the other hand was struggling with the prevailing laws and fuel crisis era. By the end of 80s Holden had retained its number 1 position in the list of top car manufacturers in Australia (Dovers, 2013).

This period saw more innovative steps and more technologies being introduced in the manufacture of cars in Australia. The Range Rover started to hit the road in the early 90’s and the manufacturers tried hard to match with the comfort level and luxuries provided by Range Rover. Automatic windows, air condition, airbags etc. were introduced in the cars and these steps took the car industry to an enhanced level and opened doors for further innovative ideas and facilities to be adopted in the near future (Tranter & Martin, 2013). 

The Sydney Olympic Games was held with the start of the New Millennium. Holden released special edition class of vehicles in the Olympic.  Commodore was the most selling car by 2002. Falcon was being continued with by the Ford. Toyota was also in the race recording the maximum sale of cars in the year, 2003. All the cars manufactured in the modern era are technologically sound, fuel efficient and also environment friendly (White, 2013).

The recent times saw exit of the car manufacturers from the car industry. Toyota, Holden and Ford are also closing their manufacturing operations in the next few years. These Companies existed for a very long time in the car industry of Australia. But they have now decide to exit the industries (Gollan et al., 2013)

In 2013, Ford made an announcement that by 2016 it would close all its manufacturing units in Australia. Toyota and Holden have also decided to stop manufacturing cars by 2017 (Gibson & Warren, 2014).  

The two major factors for which the manufacturers decided to close their shops are high cost of production and low subsidies (Biddle, 2013).

Australian car industry has produced one of the most technologically sound and comfortable cars over the years. It has able to maintain the standard and quality in the automobile products and services. It has exported innumerable vehicles over the years to the world. The durability of the cars and the safety measures incorporated in the Australian made cars are incomparable. Over the years, all the body parts of cars including chassis, control and electrical systems and other accessories have been designed by the efficient and skilful Australian engineers. The various components of a car as manufactured by the Australians are competitive in the global market and are exported in a large number (Productivity Commission, 2014).

The modernisation of cars and focus on safety measures

Australia has been able to impress the entire world through manufacturing and releasing magnificent cars over the years. The car industry of Australia has helped the rest of the world with recommending spectacular designs of cars and has given ideas of building safe and reliable cars. It has rendered engineering services and has contributed knowledge and innovative ideas through research and development. Australian car industry has even proceeded one step further and has initiated awesome plans for building future cars (Productivity Commission, 2014).

The manufacturers of cars in Australia have used a lot of lot of method and technologies for building these cars. Manufacturing a car is not an easy task. A car comprises of body, chassis and windows, systems of fuel supply, suspension systems, steering systems, engine components, brakes and systems of braking, engine oil systems wheels and parts of tyres. Windscreens, Decorative plastics, painting etc. are also important aspects to be seen in the manufacturing of a car (Golinska & Kosacka, 2014).

In order to build an environmental friendly and fuel efficient car it takes a lot of hard work and resources.  It is identified that, the automobile industry of Australia requires a vast range of variety of raw material for manufacturing the cars. It is necessary to mention that, the raw materials are imported from the inside Australia as well as outside of the Australia that means imported from the other nations. The major raw materials for manufacturing cars are Iron, Aluminium, Glass as well as Petroleum products. Apart from that, irons are actually used to produce steel that is useful for building the outer portion of the body of cars. On the other hand, the raw materials are in turn sold either directly to the automobile manufacturers or else the suppliers who are selling the automobile parts as well as accessories (Golinska & Kosacka, 2014).

It is necessary to mention that, the automobile industry of Australia is very cautious about the emission of the gases that are coming at the time of driving the cars. Therefore, the automobile industry of Australia includes emissions embodied in the materials that are used in the car air conditioning system such as, the synthetic gases. Most of the automobile business industry of Australia support for replacing the heavier metal as well as plastic materials with the thermoplastics and elastomers because the these types of raw materials are highly efficient for manufacturing the suitable car systems including the powertrain applications as well as the under hoods (Productivity Commission, 2014).

The car industry has made the most use of steel for building their products. Use of steel in cars helps to cope up with the strength and safety required for a safe driving. It has also been beneficial to the car manufacturers its cost was low as compared to other materials. It is used in abundance and the average automobile consists of 60% of steel. Steels are produced from the iron ore and are highly useful in producing the outer design of an entire car as well as to manufacture various significant parts as well as accessories that are used to manufacture a car. In addition, steel is used to construct the door panels, roofs as well as the exhaust pipes where the gases are released. Aluminium is giving a tough competition to steel in the present day scenario in order to make light weighted cars. Aluminium is used for constructing the wheels, engine blocks, piston grips of the cars (Allwood et al., 2012). 

The implementation of laws relating to pollution and fuel crisis

Steel is a heavier metal than aluminium and as a result aluminium contents in cars are increasing and are expected to increase more and more in the near future. Making cars lighter also help to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide from cars.  Emission of carbon dioxide from cars is an area which has gained prominence in the recent times. Protection of environment has been on a continuous discussion in the last couple of decades. People all over the world have become very much concerned about environment.  The use of aluminium in cars are helping in decreasing the emission of carbon dioxide which is the reason that steel is facing a tough competition from aluminium. Aluminium is expected to be used by more manufacturers of car in the years to come (Hirsch, 2014).

Another material from which steel is facing competition is plastic components. Use of plastics in manufacturing cars have seen a rapid growth. Various kinds of polymers which consist of plastics are used in different components of a car. Among the components of a car where plastics are used, the main components are fuel systems, bumper, electrical components and liquid reservoirs. The use of plastics in a car reduces the weight of a car which every manufacturers give importance in the present day world. The most common type of plastics used in car are poly vinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane and polypropylene. The car industry in Australia is highly competitive. All the manufacturers are looking at producing light weighted, fuel efficient, highly technological sound and comfortable cars. All these challenges have been met by plastics. The demand of plastics are increasing day by day as more manufacturers are using plastic components in their cars. Plastics will be continued to be used by the car manufacturers for coming out with innovative products and services in the days to come. Plastics are produced from oil and gases. The petroleum organizations are the major suppliers for the automobile industry of the Australia because from these oil and petroleum organizations, the automobile business organizations gets the transformed by product, that is Plastics. Plastics are also used in constructing the handles, dashboards, air vents because plastic is an impressive product that is durable, light weight and versatile (Golinska & Kosacka, 2014).

Another essential raw material for manufacturing the cars is rubber. Rubber has seen its extensive use in tyres. Synthetic and natural rubber both are used in the manufacturing of tyres which are the most important and vital part of car. A well-built tire ensures the safety of a car. A smooth and reliable tyre is inevitable for a safe drive Apart from that, the rubbers are also used to making the seat belts, sealing the windows as well as hoses of the pipes. The major reason for using the rubber is a raw material is rubber can be moulded into different shapes as well as it is durable and long lasting element (Dayang et al., 2014).

Glass is used in abundance in the manufacturing of a car. The windshield of cars are entirely made of glass. The windshields protect the drivers and other persons sitting in a car from outdoor elements. Cars move at a high speed and the absence of windshield would cause very much inconvenience to the passengers of a car. That is the reason it became important to introduce a windshield so as to protect the insiders sitting in a car (Almutawa et al., 2013). 

Conclusion

Car industry in Australia had seen rapid growth in the past. The manufacturers of cars were able to attract customers and buyers not only from Australia but also from around the entire world. But, presently the industry has suffered major losses and it is now collapsing. Major manufacturers are exiting from the market. It will result in a huge number of loss of jobs and employment and the economies of major states of Australia will be affected. Every industry sees its up and down and the car industry of Australia is no exception.  

References

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