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.Only if we actually make a major component here IMO.
If we made the batteries, it would probably sway some manufacturers, but most of our steel processing and materials processing has shut down in the last 30 years, so we would probably struggle to supply enough materials to make cars for our domestic consumption.
Let alone enough to export any great number, but if we have to import the battery packs, the sheet steel, the material for the upholstery then pay assembly line workers $100k/PA if you include annual leave, sickies, super, long service etc.
I just can't see a viable reason to do it here, when say Hyundai sells 100,000 cars here a year, much easier to make them in Singapore/Korea ship 5million to Asia and 100k to Australia.
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.
And this week we closed our last white paper facility in Australia.
So if we can not make an A4 sheet from our wood pulp exported overseas, how the hell are we going to be able to build batteries and even less cars.
We are at the tech level of a 3rd world country engineering wise.we were not but we are..a few niches like mining and yes incat..but anything else?
Stop dreaming.i do not like this in any way but these are the facts and this will not change with 20$ oer hour min wages, 1m dollar average house,NDIS and 50% tax rate, bloated local gov and red / green tape.
Seriously,would you start a business here if it does not have to be located in Oz
Sorry I forgot about atlassian our new energy company ?
I have suffered range anxiety for the thirty years or so I have been a pilot.
Pretty much every flight I have ever made revolves around where I can get fuel within a hundred kms of my direct route.
There are not a lot of airports that sell avgas.
So having now got a BYD, we adopt similar strategy, though cut the diversion from 100k's to 10.
We have made five trips to Melbourne and back with adding an extra 20% of range at a fast charger that is virtually on the ring road at Cooper street. This is our go to stop, as the toilets are generally clean and coffee is not recycled dishwater.
But there are other options.
Next month, we are planning on driving to Newcastle, which should be slightly more challenging.
Hopefully by then it should be easier as the school holidays are over and most folk will have gone back to work.
Mick
I do t think so, the price of oil is based on supply and demand, and supply is depended on price.I wonder if it's possible that as the takeup of EV's increase, petrol is suddenly going to be cheap again and sales of petrol engine vehicles will increase.
If the lawmakers allow it that is.
What I mean is, oil can definitely drop in price for a while, but as soon as it looks like it will be “cheap” for a sustained period new investment is slowed or stopped, until the price rises again.
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.Yes, but if oil producers realise that EVs are a long term threat to their business, won't they try and sell their oil stocks as quickly as they can in case there is no demand in the future ?
In other words if it's likely that the oil price will never rise again they have no choice but to sell at cheaper prices.
My POO is the Goulburn Valley in Northern Victoria.What is your point of origin ?
I don't think it's just 'range anxiety', availability of charging points and waiting time is also an issue.
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?My POO is the Goulburn Valley in Northern Victoria.
Just out of range of a there and back trip.
Mick
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.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 think it does with me, I worked out that with a petrol car I would be spending about 8 hours a year at petrol stations. So dropping into EV chargers a few times a year isn’t a big deal, especially if it’s during a road trip where you are utilising the charge time to take care of other things such a bodily functions.
My comment was about saving time, not money.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.
I put Solar panels and batteries on my house, not to save money, but as an insurance.
it will probably take thirty years to pay off the cost of the installation, but as an insurance against blackouts/brownouts it is invaluable.
We have already been through at least four blackouts uninterrupted since they were installed.
I have no idea how many brownouts we missed, cos we no longer notice them.
Likewise, I bought an electric car for the insurance.
Thanks to the stupidity of economists, politicians, bureacrats and ecologists, I could see a time when petrol and/or diesel was not available at any cost.
The electric car, with the ability to be run from our solar panels overcomes that potential problem.
I am always happy to pay for convenience.
I have a installed a long range tank in my ute that gives my anywhere from 1100 to 1200 kms range.
We take it if there may be a level of difficulty/inconvenience with taking my wife's BYD.
You get very little range anxiety with it.
Mick
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;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.
I put Solar panels and batteries on my house, not to save money, but as an insurance.
it will probably take thirty years to pay off the cost of the installation, but as an insurance against blackouts/brownouts it is invaluable.
We have already been through at least four blackouts uninterrupted since they were installed.
I have no idea how many brownouts we missed, cos we no longer notice them.
Likewise, I bought an electric car for the insurance.
Thanks to the stupidity of economists, politicians, bureacrats and ecologists, I could see a time when petrol and/or diesel was not available at any cost.
The electric car, with the ability to be run from our solar panels overcomes that potential problem.
I am always happy to pay for convenience.
I have a installed a long range tank in my ute that gives my anywhere from 1100 to 1200 kms range.
We take it if there may be a level of difficulty/inconvenience with taking my wife's BYD.
You get very little range anxiety with it.
Mick
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