Could this tech offer hope to a dead Aussie car manufacturing sector?

[Mr Brooksy]

Yesterday I was doing my daily F1 news search and came across this and it's got me thinking...

https://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2017/...d-engineering/

Would the availability of these kind of non mainstream car manufacturers electric drivetrains offer the ability to revive the now dead auto manufacturing in Australia? I mean let's face it, no big car company is coming back any time soon. So why don't we take a leaf out of the Poms auto manufacturing book? They really don't have a major manufacturer based in Britain anymore, just parts manufacturers. But what they do have is a good amount of small independent niche car builders.

And with a platform available that is supposed to be superior to Tesla, wouldn't that offer light to producing some Aussie muscle cars again. Sure at the moment this platform would more than likely mean the cars produced would be competing price wise with the likes of Tesla and the Germans, but as the stats suggest, us Aussies have been heading in the Germans direction since our offerings have faulted and now died. And the price for the platform isn't stated and would surely decline over time due to the cost of production of materials etc.

Sure it's electric, and there's no V8s to be seen. But in say 20 years, will there be anyone producing petrol powered V8s anymore on mass?

Anyway, it has just been bouncing about in my head since reading the article, so I thought I'd share.

[Dauphin]

Hmm, yes. Maybe we need to redefine ourselves as leaders in electric vehicle production somehow.

[Crazy Dazz]

There are several auto factories in the UK.
They simply form part of an integrated European system.
(Brexit may chance that, have to wait and see.)

The fundamental problem with your idea, is that other manufacturing fled Australia long before the auto-makers.
Also, whilst it's huge decision to close down an existing factory, the decision on where to build a new one is not.

And the really scary problem, is that we are rapidly losing the expertise necessary. Back in the 60's & 70's, Australian Universities were considered world leaders in the new field of Electronic Engineering. The best and the brightest came from all over the world to study and do research.
Now most Uni's nolonger even offer the degree.

Without an industry, there are no jobs.
Without jobs, there are no graduates.
Without graduates, there are no schools.

[olfella]

Electric cars are going to revolutionise the whole industry IMO. Less moving parts to go wrong. No transmission/driveline or workshops to repair. No mechanics to give oil changes or fix leaky radiators. No spare parts shops.

They will be cheap, last a lot longer so less turnover and less jobs.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by Mr Brooksy

So why don't we take a leaf out of the Poms auto manufacturing book? They really don't have a major manufacturer based in Britain anymore

Aston Martin, Bentley, GM, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover (3 factories!), McLaren, Mini, Nissan, Toyota, Rolls Royce, Vauxhall.... 1.5 million cars, pretty impressive for a country that's not in the game anymore supposedly.

[GCRXR6]

Originally Posted by olfella

Electric cars are going to revolutionise the whole industry IMO. Less moving parts to go wrong. No transmission/driveline or workshops to repair. No mechanics to give oil changes or fix leaky radiators. No spare parts shops.

They will be cheap, last a lot longer so less turnover and less jobs.

Electrics do wear. Armatures fail, stators fail, bearings fail, sometimes with expensive consequences, shafts wear. We still need brakes, wheel bearings etc.
Granted, less parts needed, but I suspect they will be manufactured to a "servicable life". Someone on the forums once called Camrys "whitegoods". How close that may be with electric vehicles.

[Vormund]

People will still want to upgrade to the latest and greatest, so perfectly serviceable cars are still going to be traded in. Much like today really

Also battery lifespan would still be a concern, presumably there will be battery replacement services etc

[Mercury Bullet]

Originally Posted by GCRXR6

Electrics do wear. Armatures fail, stators fail, bearings fail, sometimes with expensive consequences, shafts wear. We still need brakes, wheel bearings etc.
Granted, less parts needed, but I suspect they will be manufactured to a "servicable life". Someone on the forums once called Camrys "whitegoods". How close that may be with electric vehicles.

Inverter racks, electronics, wiring etc.

Some seem to think electric cars will cost nothing to run.
I've got a really big bridge for sale.

[willeng]

Interesting thread,

Let's be honest, the biggest problem we have now is that everything is dollar driven.
Our country is losing all sorts of expertise as has been mentioned due to companies & store owners etc buying things (crap) from places like China for 2 cents & selling them for $55.00.
The silver lining on the profits get bigger & so does the hole we are digging ourselves?

So in a nutshell people are now looking only at how much profit they can make & not the quality of good Aussie made gear, there is no stopping it now.

Even if we can come up with a world leading invention, someone will get it made in Asia because it will cost less to be made. It certainly won't be of the same quality though.

Even the food industry is a classic example of how the dollar rules, why we need to import anything is a joke.

What About Australia & our industries, well what we used to have I should have said!

I don't know about you but I am sitting here with a Chinese computer, Chinese Keyboard, Chinese Mouse, sitting on a Chinese Chair & dressed in Bloody everything made in China, even my bloody undies are chinese
I know this because I have been picking rice out of my crack all day?

Go Australia


Cheers

[b0son]

Originally Posted by willeng

The silver lining on the profits get bigger

Profits are going down... we love shopping for the cheapest, bypassing traditional retail for Amazon/ebay/etc, and think that has no repercussions. The traditional resellers have little option but to source cheaper foreign product to compete.

[willeng]

Hi bOson,

By bypassing Australian goods manufactured in Australia is what is having a devastating affect on our industries though.

Personally I like to buy things once & expect them to last, price is not what is important really, the quality is.

I have just had to buy 3 Ball Joints for our AU, the originals lasted 340,000Km
I tried everywhere in our area to buy some descent quality parts but could only buy nasty Chinese Ball Joints that will last about a year & cost me the same as what some quality Ball Joints would have normally.
So I will have to replace these about 15 times over the next 340,000km if the car lasts that long making them 15 times more expensive without all the labour involved.

People often get mislead buy buying cheap, it's only cheap if it is comparable
with a quality product.

Not to mention safety issues, Chinese metallurgy is not what you call up to spec & if these don't break they will certainly start wearing out as soon as I let the jack down.

Yes your correct CHEAPER foreign product, this will not cure the unemployment rate or advance Australia into the next century if we have no industries of our own to fall back on if sh*#t hits the fan.

Cheers

[Crazy Dazz]

Meanwhile we're all getting poisoned because of our Chinese plumbing fittings made with lead.

[olfella]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

Inverter racks, electronics, wiring etc.

Some seem to think electric cars will cost nothing to run.
I've got a really big bridge for sale.

True but will we ever get a say? I liken it to the current coal/renewables debate. Renewables are going to provide power requirements for the future, so really the debate is more about transitioning over to them.
Now with some major cities banning Diesel and petrol cars in the future, the writing is on the wall for fossil powered cars. Maybe not in my life time though.