Auto business owners need plan in place

4 March 2019

The Australian automotive industry contributes $37 billion per annum – 2.2 per cent of the country’s GDP, but the sector needs a clear and considered blueprint for the future if it's going to continue to do so.

On behalf of the Australian automotive industry, which employs 385,500 people, the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC) is calling for the next Federal Government to create an automotive blueprint, laying out its policy intentions.

A master plan, the blueprint will allow automotive business owners to develop, plan and invest with confidence, and by extension inform the future success of the industry. It will help the industry thrive as it transitions into a new technological landscape, with its exciting career opportunities.

“Such a blueprint is well overdue and must be developed in consultation with industry to ensure it has a practical and powerful impact,” says VACC Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Gwilym.

The development of a blueprint, as recommended by a Senate Economics Reference Committee report – The Future of Australia’s Automotive Industry – will assist the Federal Government and industry. 

Critically, it will inform government as it considers the implications of a changing automotive landscape –urban infrastructure, skill requirements and government revenue streams, all of which require forward planning and policy debate.

“It is critical the next Federal Government makes its intentions clear and details its support and policy direction for the industry,” says Mr Gwilym.

Despite its economic significance the automotive industry has struggled for significant recognition from government. The disruption, as well as opportunity, that the uptake of electric, connected and autonomous vehicles is set to bring will be better handled if a strong policy framework is in place (in the form of a blueprint which has been developed in advance).

Download VACC’s 2019 Federal election manifesto Keep Australia Moving.