Electric cars touted to recharge Australian manufacturing sector

The report says with 34,258 people still working in car manufacturing making components for the global supply chain and sections of old car factories still intact, Australia has a strong base from which to restart the industry.

Even if Australia is unable to revive the industry to the point where it can make an electric car from scratch, there would still be much to gain from expanding into a portion of the global automotive supply chain such as batteries, the report says.

Australia is already expanding its production of lithium and other critical minerals needed to build batteries and other electronic infrastructure that will underpin the global zero emissions transition.

The report recommends a commission be set up with representatives from government, business and unions to map out how a new industry can be created.

It also recommends any new industry be powered by renewable energy, clear incentives to encourage take up, including fuel efficiency standards, and efforts made to attract major car companies.

Dettmer said electric cars had fewer parts than petrol vehicles, but the complexity of guidance systems, suspension systems, batteries and collision avoidance and other systems required much more work.

With waiting lists growing and EV sales having tripled over the past two years, the biggest challenge facing the industry was supply.

Bill Gillespie, president of SEA Electric in the Asia Pacific, an Australian company that makes and converts trucks and buses to electric, said when other governments worldwide were competing to attract new industry Australia lacked clear policy.