SYDNEY - Slumped sales and high petrol prices have forced Australia's car makers to press the federal government for help, The Australian newspaper reported today.
GM Holden, Ford, Toyota and Mitsubishi have asked the Howard government to freeze tariffs at 10 per cent and pump an additional A$1billion ($1.1 billion) into Australia's car industry.
The domestic manufacturers struggle to remain viable while consumers are switching to smaller, imported vehicles.
Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane signalled the government was also concerned, with domestic sales slumping from 70 per cent of the Australian market in 1988 to just 20 per cent.
"It is not an issue of can we sustain four manufacturers," Mr Macfarlane told The Australian.
"It is what numbers of vehicles do we need to sell in Australia to maintain a construction industry here."
The industry's demands for help were made when the chief executives met Mr Macfarlane in his Canberra office on December 6, The Australian reports.
They asked the government to consider freezing tariffs on passenger vehicles and automotive components at 10 per cent from 2010.
The highly-protected sector had earlier agreed to a cut in tariffs to five per cent from 2010, making imported vehicles even more competitive.
It is understood Mr Macfarlane gave the bosses little comfort during the meeting.
"The asked for a decade of certainty," Mr Macfarlane told The Australian.
"Less than a year into the deal, it is very early to be saying, 'we want a complete review of the plan'."
"Australia has traditionally preferred medium-large cars and I guess that is the challenge for manufacturers over the next 12 months."
