The company will close its two plants from October 2016, saying that the move was being made ‘to better position the company to compete in a highly fragmented and competitive market’.

Ford said the decision on local manufacturing was driven by increasingly challenging market conditions – including market fragmentation and the high cost of manufacturing. Ford losses in Australia in the last five years have totalled approximately AUD $600m (€448m).

‘All of us at Ford remain committed to our long history of serving Australian customers with the very best vehicles that deliver cutting edge technology at an affordable cost,’ said Bob Graziano, president and CEO of Ford Australia. ‘Unfortunately, due to challenging market conditions we are unable to do that longer-term while continuing to manufacture locally.’

Australia has annual sales of approximately 1.1 million new vehicles, and customers have access to more than 65 brands and 365 models available for sale. This makes Australia one of the most competitive and crowded automotive markets in the world.

‘Given the fragmented marketplace and the low model volumes that result, we decided that manufacturing locally is no longer viable,’ said Mr Graziano.

The carmaker added that it has aggressive plans to introduce even more new products for Australian customers – including a 30% increase in the number of new vehicles offered to Australian customers by 2016. It also said it will maintain a significant presence in the country with 1500 team members, more than 200 dealers nationwide and a ‘continued strong commitment to supporting the communities in which the company operates’.

‘Overall, we are changing, but our commitment to Australia remains strong. We’ll move through this transition and continue to be a vibrant and strong part of the Australian driving experience,’ added Mr Graziano.