Automotive Exports
Australian vehicle manufacturers achieved increased export volumes and earnings in 2007, an outstanding result in the face of an increasingly competitive international trading environment.
The automotive industry is one of the country’s largest export industries, ahead of traditional commodities such as wheat and wool, with the total value of exports exceeding $5 billion
a year. In 2007, more than 40 per cent of all vehicles manufactured in Australia were exported, producing more $3.2 billion in export income, an increase of more than $160 million on a year earlier. Over the same period exports of automotive components were valued at more than $1.8 billion.
As in past years, the Middle East was the prime destination for exports of Australian made cars, accounting for more than two thirds of the value of all vehicle exports. Saudi Arabia was by far Australia’s largest vehicle export market, generating export sales worth just under $1.1 billion. Sales to other Middle East markets, combined, were worth a similar amount.
Notwithstanding the competitive impact of the sustained higher value of the Australian dollar and the prospect of some increased risks to growth in global demand, the outlook for Australian automotive exports in 2008 remains positive. In particular, Australian manufacturers have announced a number of new products targeted at overseas markets, such as the United States and it is hoped that this will enhance efforts to diversify the industry’s export base.