Automotive
South Australia is a key part of the Australian automotive industry.
It is home to major operations by the car manufacturer GM Holden Ltd. It is also home to a cluster of component manufacturers and suppliers, including major international automotive companies such as Bridgestone Australia, Hirotec, Schefenacker Vision Systems, Siemens, ZF Lemforder, Tenneco, and Futuris Automotive.
The South Australian automotive industry comprises businesses involved in the manufacture of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts including, tyres, steel and alloy wheel, engine components, rear-view mirrors, seats, suspension modules, mouldings and exhaust systems.
Adelaide, South Australia is Australia’s least costly place to set-up and do business, and in the top 20 most cost-competitive cities in the world for automotive manufacturing.1
Combined with this relatively low-cost base, South Australia offers manufacturers the advantage of high-quality transport infrastructure to facilitate product distribution and the opportunity to collaborate with leading advanced manufacturing research centres.
Output
- 121,543 cars produced in 2008, or 37.4% of the Australian total.2
Exports
- $0.6 billion road vehicles, parts and accessories exports in the year to September 2009, or 6% of the State's total goods exports.3
- Key export markets for road vehicles, parts and accessories exports include the United States, Saudi Arabia, China, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Korea.3
Employment
- 8,300 people employed in motor vehicle and parts manfufacturing in the year to August 2009.4
Number of businesses
- 270 motor vehicle and component manufacturers at June 2007.5
Research and development
- $36 million spent on automotive industry research and development in 2007-08, or 4% of the State total.6
- Investment in research and development, as well as the ongoing training of automotive industry workers, is critical for motor vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers to maintain a competitive global position without compromising vehicle quality.
Geographic focus
Firms in South Australia’s automotive industry are concentrated in the vicinity of the car manufacturing plant of GM Holden Ltd (northern Adelaide). Component manufacturers are located adjacent to the GM Holden Ltd vehicle assembly plant in a 90-hectare automotive precinct at Edinburgh Parks. The park is directly linked by a tuggerway to the Holden plant.
Case Studies
GM Holden Ltd
Intercast and Forge
Futuris Automotive
Industry groups
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries
Federation of Automotive Products Manufacturers (FAPM)
Engineering Employers Association South Australia
