If you look at it purely commercially you are right, but in an uncertain world with uncertain supply lines, there is advantage in having a national manufacturing capacity because there will be spin-offs into other areas.
And this week we closed our last white paper facility in Australia.In principle I'm 100% in favour of manufacturing things in Australia.
In practice we'd need a massive change of mindset to make it work.
There are some exceptions, for example Incat has been a technological leader in catamaran ferries for a very long time now as evidenced by the company's ships having held the transatlantic crossing record continuously since 1990. The only thing that's beaten them, twice, was another Incat ship.
That's an exception not the norm however and we'd need a huge cultural shift to make manufacturing a goer in Australia.
At the government and broad society level we need to put technical and "doing" things back up on a pedestal.
At the management and worker level we need vision, actual leadership and a "can do" approach.
The big problem with our previous car industry being twofold:
1. Management and workers collectively couldn't get their act together. Blunt but it has to be said. Even Toyota, with state of the art manufacturing plant, couldn't achieve in Australia what's taken for granted overseas.
2. Management of Ford and Holden simply clung to building product that wasn't what the market wants anymore.
End result is the writing was firmly on the wall decades before the final shutdown.
In principle I'm 100% in favour of manufacturing things in Australia.
In practice we'd need a massive change of mindset to make it work.
There are some exceptions, for example Incat has been a technological leader in catamaran ferries for a very long time now as evidenced by the company's ships having held the transatlantic crossing record continuously since 1990. The only thing that's beaten them, twice, was another Incat ship.
That's an exception not the norm however and we'd need a huge cultural shift to make manufacturing a goer in Australia.
At the government and broad society level we need to put technical and "doing" things back up on a pedestal.
At the management and worker level we need vision, actual leadership and a "can do" approach.
The big problem with our previous car industry being twofold:
1. Management and workers collectively couldn't get their act together. Blunt but it has to be said. Even Toyota, with state of the art manufacturing plant, couldn't achieve in Australia what's taken for granted overseas.
2. Management of Ford and Holden simply clung to building product that wasn't what the market wants anymore.
End result is the writing was firmly on the wall decades before the final shutdown.
.
I do t think so, the price of oil is based on supply and demand, and supply is depended on price.
It doesn’t really work like that, their is limits to how fast oil can be pumped out of the ground, and as oil wells mature, the speed slows down.
My POO is the Goulburn Valley in Northern Victoria.
Do you think that even with stopping to add the extra 20% or so you need to get home during those trips but charging at home the rest of the time still saves you more time than having to visit petrol stations on the regular?
I really don't care about saving money on charging versus petrol/versus capital cost etc, nor do I think I am saving the planet.
My comment was about saving time, not money.
Sony and Honda’s ‘Afeela’ wants to transform the car cockpit
Japanese giants Sony and Honda have joined forces to launch a new electric vehicle brand, Afeela, with a production prototype recently unveiled at the CES 2023 technology trade show in Las Vegas.
The EV brand will be a joint venture for the newly christened Sony Honda Mobility, with the company’s first prototype, a stylish hatchback based on previous Sony-designed EV concept cars.
Although no details have been released regarding the car’s driving range, top speed, battery or electric motors, its size indicates it will enter the marketplace as a direct competitor to the top-selling Tesla Model 3.
Sony Honda Mobility is highlighting the car’s technological advancements and focusing on the cockpit experience, and its yet-to-be-finalised autonomous-driving systems allowing for the possibility of in-car entertainment content to be sold to owners via a subscription service.
Like many forward-looking car companies, Afeela sees a future in which the car will become a living space rather than just a form of transport; one in which we can watch screens and be sold content and fed advertising.
The company’s chief executive, Yasuhide Mizuno, says Sony Honda Mobility has set its sights firmly on technological innovation.
“We aim to revolutionise the mobility space as a mobility tech company, alongside like-minded people who are pioneering a new future with creativity through cutting-edge technology,” Mr Mizuno said.
“We have reached an inflection point where the elements of a car are shifting from power and performance to software, networks, and user experiences.
“We want to think outside of the box to revisit the underlying philosophy of vehicle design.”
The interior of the Afeela
One of those innovations will be in-car graphics created by the ‘Unreal Engine’ 3-D creation tool from Epic Games, the maker of the Fortnite and Mortal Kombat series of games.
“We aim to evolve mobility space into entertainment and emotional space, by seamlessly integrating real and virtual worlds, and exploring new entertainment possibilities through digital innovations such as the metaverse,” Mr Mizuno said.
The Afeela prototype is also equipped with 45 interior and exterior cameras and sensors, as well as an advanced ‘Snapdragon’ computer processor from electronics hardware company Qualcomm.
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon says his company’s technology will play a key role in Afeela’s tech-heavy EVs.
“The car is becoming increasingly connected and intelligent, and how we experience our vehicles is changing,” Mr Amon said. “The Snapdragon Digital Chassis serves as the foundation for next-generation software-defined vehicles, enabling new mobility experiences and services.”
Other highlights of the car include an exterior ‘media bar’, which allows the car to express itself to surrounding people using light, cloud-service connectivity and intuitive navigation through augmented reality (AR).
Although no price has been announced, Mr Mizuno says the Afeela EV prototype, which will be built at a factory in North America, will be sold at “a premium”.
“We anticipate starting to take pre-orders in the first half of 2025. The first shipment will be delivered to customers in North America starting March 2026,” Mizuno said.
exactly why I see myself with an EV, I know enough maths to understand it is NOT economic however you twist it, as for saving the planet, let's all have a good laugh.. but with the clowns in charge, we will be forced that way;
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