- Mark Hawthorne, Benjamin Preiss
Toyota (click here) stands to become one of the most heavily subsidised car manufacturers since the birth of Holden in 1948, as federal and state governments enter desperate negotiations to try to keep the Japanese company operating.
In the wake of Ford and Holden's announcements they will shut their Australian operations, Toyota stands to become the primary beneficiary of the federal government's $2 billion Automotive Transformation Scheme.
Toyota has stated that Holden's decision to quit Australia ''will place unprecedented pressure on the supplier network and our ability to build cars in Australia''.
Toyota made 101,000 passenger cars in Australia last year and about 104,000 this year - almost half of all local production. If Toyota continues to make similar volumes through to 2020, the ATS subsidy works out to $3000 a car.
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Car industry expert Stephen Longley of accounting firm PPB Advisory - who has overseen the collapse or restructure of more than a dozen parts suppliers over the past decade - said Toyota had ''effectively won gold'' by simply being the last local car maker standing....
