Toyota Australia has shifted the last of its manufacturing departments from its Port Melbourne factory to much newer Altona plant, ending half a century of automotive operations at the historic site.
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The Port Melbourne plant commenced operations in 1952 when imported brands could only profitably be sold in volume in the then heavily tariff-protected protected Australian market – dominated by sole local manufacturer Holden – if they were locally assembled.
It was there that the first Toyota ever built outside Japan was assembled from a CKD kit in April 1963.
More than one million Toyotas were built at Port Melbourne up to 1994 and the company retained manufacturing operations there until 30 May this year.
The final automotive operations – including bumper bar production and the assembly of small components – have now been transferred to Altona which builds the Camry for both domestic and export markets – it is the main supplier of left-hand drive versions to the Middle East.
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By GlobalDataToyota’s expansive manufacturing operations have now been consolidated into a single site in Australia for the first time since 1989.
The president of Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Ltd, Ted Okada, said Port Melbourne played a significant role in Toyota’s long and proud history of manufacturing in Victoria.
Most of the land owned by Toyota in Port Melbourne has been bought by developers and forms the new Toyota Green industrial estate.
Toyota Australia’s new $A50m corporate headquarters opened alongside the Westgate Freeway two years ago, so the company retains a connection with the site.
Car assembly began at Port Melbourne in 1952 under the ownership of Standard Motors, which had started as Eclipse Motors in the 1920s and became Australian Motor Industries (AMI) in the late 1950s.
As well as Toyotas, Port Melbourne assembled Vanguards, Standards and Triumphs from England, Mercedes-Benz kits imported from Germany (for only a few years) and US-made American Motors Ramblers until 1978.
It subsequently became a wholly-owned Toyota subsidiary as the Japanese automaker, encouraged by changing Australain government auto industry policy, moved from CKD kit assembly with a high percentage of locally sourced parts to full manufacture.
After Toyota vehicle assembly was transferred to the then new Altona assembly plant over the 1994-95 New Year break, a number of operations remained at Port Melbourne, including seat and trim, press shop, bumper factory and component manufacture.
These have now been relocated with all staff being offered continued employment at Altona.
