British billionaire industrialist Sanjeev Gupta has said the price of electric vehicles will fall steadily like big-screen televisions and solar panels and he’s close to finalising plans to become a niche manufacturer in Australia with a likely production run of between 10,000 to 20,000 vehicles.
Mr Gupta, whose GFG Alliance has been working closely with the United Kingdom’s Gordon Murray Design for the past 18 months on its electric vehicle strategy, said GFG was getting towards the final stages of deciding which of the prototype vehicles it will use to launch into the marketplace.
In an interview with the Australian Financial Review (AFR) newspaper he indicated he wanted to be at the forefront of what he said would be an inevitable drop in electric vehicle prices, as take-up improves, more models appear in a market heavily government-subsidised around the world, and more charging station infrastructure is built.
“All of these things start out at a particular price point and over time they get cheaper and cheaper,” Mr Gupta said.
That was the case with large-screen televisions and solar panels, and electric vehicle would follow the same path.
Toll road operator Transurban’s chief executive Scott Charlton said separately the speed with which electric, hybrid and hydrogen vehicles were embraced would surprise some politicians.
GFG and Gordon Murray Design have been studying the Australian market, as part of their global examination of where the best opportunities lie.
Mr Gupta told AFR he wanted to make electric vehicles in Australia and then set up manufacturing operations in India.
A small ”metro car” for drivers in large cities was one of the prototypes, but Australian drivers seemed to prefer other types of vehicles.
“Australia may not be ready for a smart car. We are likely to have a range,” Mr Gupta said.
“My dream would be to launch a people’s car,” he said.
He declined to say where the manufacturing site might be in Australia, but indicate some formal announcements on the next steps were likely ”within weeks”.
Opposition Labor Party leader Bill Shorten outlined an electric vehicle policy four weeks ago that included a target of 50 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Australia by 2030 being electric.
Conservative Liberal-National Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been highly critical of the Labor Party’s plan to accelerate the take-up of electric vehicles, warning it was an assault on the freedom of motorists.
Mr Gupta told AFR that governments were subsidising the industry in many countries around the world, and that had clearly added extra impetus to the industry, with Norway a prime example.
“Other governments are subsidising. You look at it around the world,” he said.
He also said large established car companies making traditional internal combustion engines were back to square one, and did not have any extra advantage in the shift to electric vehicles across the industry.
“Nobody’s got a run on it yet. Everyone is starting out,” he said.
Australia needed to decide if it was content to just import electric vehicles made overseas, or step up and become a manufacturer too.
“I certainly think that should happen here,” he said.
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One Response
Easy to make as numerous parts not needed. There is nothing to stop these vehicles being fitted with a 2000 K battery let alone being powered by solar produced hydrogen. They could also be painted with solar cells as most of our cars sit in the sun all day. Our current dinosaur government who is funded by the fossil fuel sector will do anything to stop it, further retarding Australia.