Car companies leaving Australia (credit, costs, economic, between)

[robertpasa]

Toyota just announced they are leaving Australia in 2017. Two other car companies also left in recent years. Is there some trend going on?

I read once that Australia ranks very high in economic freedom. The highest were Hong Kong and Singapore. Yet when most people think of Australia they don't think of economic freedom.

[EugeneOnegin]

It's not a trend any more since Toyota was the last one to bail. After 2017 there will be no auto manufacturing in Australia, unless another company moves in between now and then which is unlikely. Costs are too high.

Things are looking bleak for Australia. As Dylan Grice said "Australia is a credit bubble built on a commodity market built on an even bigger Chinese credit bubble."

That commodity boom is winding down and so is Chinese growth.