Labor to promise to restart the car industry – report

ABC news is reporting an as yet unannounced Labor election policy to restart Australian car making, this time manufacturing electric and hydrogen powered vehicles.

The report, on abc.net.au, says Labor would provide R&D grants from a $1 billion manufacturing-focussed fund.

ABC reports high-ranking US executives have travelled to Australia to discuss co-investment options with the Opposition.

Opposition industry spokesman, Kim Carr has not commented on the report.

However he is well known to senior car industry executives in the US and Japan, having numerous meetings at the highest levels of the industry when he was a minister.

Previously he crafted a Green Car Plan that assisted Toyota to establish electric hybrid Camry manufacturing in Melbourne, with Camrys exported to the Middle East market.

ABC says Labor leader Bill Shorten hinted at his plan for a car industry as part of his push for a “manufacturing nation”.

In his Budget reply speech, Shorten said he wanted Australia to use its natural resources of lithium to create an Australian battery industry.

“So instead of the usual trope of shipping the minerals overseas and buying back the finished product at vastly inflated prices, let’s make the batteries here,” he said.

“And let’s do this with electric vehicles and charging equipment and stations too.”

Australia still has an active vehicle manufacturing sector making buses, trucks, rail vehicles and mining equipment.

In addition, ACE Electric vehicles is building an electric van, and SEA Electric is manufacturing electric drive trains and producing trucks and vans.

Picture: Holden FX

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