Holden says dollar won`t hurt exports

Holden says dollar won`t hurt exports

19.05.2008

CAR maker Holden says it`s export deals aren`t yet at risk from the high value of the Australian dollar.

With the company this year moving to export half its local production and some predictions of the local dollar currently heading towards parity with the its US counterpart, Holden said its export program won`t be immediately affected.

General Motors Group vice president and president GM Asia Pacific Nick Reilly said it was unlikely the countries taking product from Australia would change the source of supply.

"If you`ve got a product that you only make here and it`s wanted for other markets around the world, it`s very unlikely those markets are going to invest to make those products,`` Mr Reilly told journalists.

"So what is more likely to happen if the Aussie dollar stays strong or gets stronger, they will still want the product but we probably won`t sell as much because we`ll have to put the price up.

"But it`s a good (export) program today, even at today`s exchange rates.

"If the Aussie dollar goes up by another 25 per cent, then I can`t tell you what we might have to do.

"But we`re not anticipating it`s going to go (up) that much.``

As well as Commodore exports to Europe, the Middle East, South America and Asia, Holden recently began exporting a version of the latest Commodore to the US, with strong early demand reported for the Pontiac-badged G8 sedan.

The company also plans to ship a version of the Commodore ute to the US later this year.
GM is pleased with the response to the G8 but expected to wait three to four months before making any decision on increasing production in Australia.

Mr Reilly said Holden was emerging from a tough two years in the local market and while its market share was currently down, its finances were in better shape.

He said the company`s local manufacturing operations had been hit by the rising demand for small cars sparked by high petrol prices.

And while Holden was not about to get out of the job of building large cars, he said it would need to make a decision in the next two to three years on just what the mix of product it would continue to produce at its Elizabeth assembly operations in Adelaide.

While it was currently running at near full capacity, he said the Adelaide plant could cope with manufacturing both a large and small model if necessary.

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