AAAA responds to Future Fuels and Vehicle Strategy

The Federal Government has outlined its Electric Vehicle policy

The policy is designed to encourage the market to move towards EV uptake without introducing the financial incentives seen in some other countries. The AAAA welcomes the strategy, which is in line with its call for a strategic approach to the transition to EVs. The first national Future Fuels and Vehicles Strategy is backed by an expanded $250 million Future Fuels Fund investment, including $178 million in new funding. The technology-led Strategy will see the Government work with industry to enhance consumer choice, create jobs and reduce emissions in Australia’s transport sector. The expanded Future Fuels Fund will focus on four areas, public electric vehicle charging and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure; heavy and longdistance vehicle technologies; commercial fleets; and household smart charging Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Future Fuels and Vehicles Strategy delivers on the Government’s recently released Long-Term Emissions Reduction Plan, which provides an Australian way to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. “Our Plan promised technology not taxes, choices not mandates, and driving down the cost of new technologies, and that’s exactly what this Strategy delivers to Australians,” the Prime Minister said. “Australians love their family sedan, farmers rely on their trusted ute and our economy counts on trucks and trains to deliver goods from coast to coast. “We will not be forcing Australians out of the car they want to drive or penalising those who can least afford it through bans or taxes. Instead, the Strategy will work to drive down the cost of low and zero emission vehicles, and enhance consumer choice. “We will do this by creating the right environment for industry co-investment in technology development. “Just as Australians have taken their own decision to embrace roof-top solar at the highest rate in the world, when new vehicle technologies are cost competitive Australians will embrace them too.” AAAA Director of Government Relations and Advocacy, Lesley Yates, said the AAAA is pleased to see the emphasis being placed on expanding recharging infrastructure and is looking forward to consulting with all levels of government about strategies to enable AAAA members to access the specialist knowledge and training required to repair and maintain EVs. “The Federal Government is of the view that when EVs are affordable, Australians will embrace them,” Lesley said. “A large part of affordability is the repair, service and maintenance of EVs and we want governments to work with us to support automotive repairers to be ready to support in-service EVs. “The Prime Minister talks about choice and not forcing consumers into only one option. We agree, consumer should have choice and that includes the ability to chose who repairs and maintains their EV at competitive and affordable rates.” Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said the Strategy is about helping motorists embrace the increasing range of technologies available to keep them moving in an informed and fair way. “The Future Fuels and Vehicles Strategy sets out the Government’s technology-led approach to reducing transport emissions while ensuring Australians can drive their preferred type of vehicle – be that petrol, diesel, hydrogen or electric powered,” Minister Taylor said. “Our technology-led approach is already helping to enhance consumer and industry confidence. In the last eight months there has been a 20 percent increase in the number of low emissions vehicle models available in Australia. “We are continuing to invest in the right infrastructure, while ensuring both those in the cities and regions can access this $250 million Fund. “Like we saw with our world-leading rooftop solar uptake, we know that when new technologies reach price parity, Australians rapidly adopt them. We will take these lessons from solar integration into our reform work to ensure our grid is ‘EV ready’ to keep the lights on and bills affordable for everyone. “Voluntary adoption of electric vehicles is the right pathway for reducing transport emissions over the long term. Stringent standards, bans or regressive taxes will limit choice and increase the upfront costs of cars for Australians.” In a press release, the Government said it will also take the lead on reforms through Energy Ministers to ensure the electricity grid is ready for an increase in electric vehicles. It says these reforms will help to keep the grid reliable and affordable, along with avoiding the estimated $224 million in electricity network upgrades needed by 2030. Without this action, these costs would be passed on to all electricity consumers, even those who do not choose to buy an electric vehicle. In addition, the Government will continue to work closely with the states and territories to address barriers to low emission vehicle uptake in their jurisdictions, ensuring consumers have access to reliable, easy-to-understand information on low emission vehicles to enable informed choices. For more information, visit www.industry.gov.au/data-andpublications/future-fuels-and-vehicles-strategy

SAM CELEBRATES 40 YEARS WITH TERRAIN TAMER

Sam Castellano has been a part of the Terrain Tamer team for four decades

In this day and age, it’s an extremely rare achievement to have worked with the same company for twenty years, let alone forty, but that is exactly what Terrain Tamer has recently celebrated with Business Development Manager, Sam Castellano. Sam started out his career as a rep for a competitor, but Don Kyatt Group Managing Director Frank Hutchinson recognised Sam’s talents and hired him as a Parts Interpreter in Melbourne in 1981. It was just under a year later when he and his wife Lynn packed up a truck and headed to Adelaide, tasked with opening the company’s first interstate branch. What was meant to be only a short 12-month tenure soon turned into a permanent move and Sam remained the Branch Manager in Adelaide for over 30 years, during which time he would spend many long months on the road, tasked with finding business in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Often gone for up to three months at a time, Sam would cross the Nullarbor to southern Western Australia before heading straight up to the top, east to Darwin and back down the centre to home, visiting customers and heading down any number of unexplored tracks if he heard of a 4WD business that he hadn’t visited before. These trips not only proved instrumental to the continued growth of his branch in Adelaide, but also to the company’s expansion, opening branches in Perth in 1992, Alice Springs in 2004 and Darwin in 2008. With their children now grown up, Sam and Lynn relished in the idea of change, so when the role of Manager at Terrain Tamer’s European warehouse in France became available in 2014, Sam was quick to put his hand up and started his next adventure with the company on the other side of the world. He spent four years in the position before handing over the reins to his Assistant Manager and returning to Australia. Two years ago, Sam took on the role of Branch Manager of the original Moorabbin branch and, with his developing team, has achieved some incredible results. New branding, a rebuild of the branch’s showroom and offices, new storage facilities, new online systems and introducing several delivery drivers has allowed the 50-year-old branch to bring a modern approach to the loyal customer base of South East Victoria. Sam is the longest serving current member of staff besides Managing Director Frank Hutchinson, however of the company’s 150 current staff members, 25 have served for over 25 years, passing down their training, values and knowledge from the early years of the company to the next generation of Managers. When asked what has kept him with Terrain Tamer for so long, Sam puts it plainly. “Sure, I could’ve moved on over the years, but I love the people and I love the company. It’s as simple as that,” Sam said. “I love the way the company has changed. There’s something happening all the time, it’s never stayed still, and that means I don’t either.” To learn more about Don Kyatt, visit www.donkyatt.com.au

FROM TYRE FITTER TO TYRE LEADER

Heath Barclay to lead Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand from 2022

Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand will see a management change in 2022 with the appointment of Heath Barclay as Managing Director from January. Heath currently holds the role of Sales Director at Bridgestone Australia, having held numerous positions in both New Zealand and Australia originally as a part-time tyre fitter at his local Firestone store in Dannevirke while finishing high school. In 1994, he joined full time as the store’s manager and attracted the attention of Bridgestone NZ (then Firestone) and was offered a Management Cadet role in 1996. Within Bridgestone NZ, Heath went on to climb through the ranks, working in roles within marketing, consumer business and general management. In 2013 he relocated to Australia as the Group General Manager of Retail and Marketing, then serving as Associate Director Sales and Marketing and as a new member of the board, before becoming Sales Director in 2017. As Bridgestone continues its evolution towards its global mid-to-long-term business strategy announced in 2020, Heath is enthusiastic to lead the company through what will be a significant era. “Last year the global strategy for Bridgestone 3.0 was announced, and since then we have been laying the foundations to execute this strategy, and I’m honoured to be presented with the opportunity and responsibility of leading Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand through this period,” Heath said. “It’s no secret that I’m passionate about this company having spent half my life working for Bridgestone. As a business, we have significant plans, and we have a great team to bring them to life and realise our mid-long-term strategy.” Incumbent Managing Director, Stephen Roche, will retire at the end of the year following a threeand-a-half-year tenure at the tyre company. His time in the role saw the acquisition and integration of Lube Mobile into the Bridgestone business, the launch of the global strategy and steering the business through the COVID-19 pandemic. “Stephen Roche played a significant role in laying the foundations for Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand’s future over the past few years and personally, I’ve enjoyed working with him immensely. He’s left big shoes to fill, and I’m looking forward to this challenge,” Heath said. According to Stephen Roche, Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand’s future looks bright, and Heath is the ideal candidate to see the business through the next phase of its evolution towards a mobility solutions provider. Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand is part of the Bridgestone China and Asia Pacific (BSCAP) region structure, and Heath will report to COO Asia Pacific, Agustin Pedroni, in the Managing Director role. For more from Bridgestone, visit www.bridgestone.com.au

CELEBRATING A 25-YEAR TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP

Burson Auto Parts and Markinson have been partners for a quarter of a century

In celebrating Burson Auto Parts’ 50th Anniversary, the Australian company is paying tribute to the many long term supplier partnerships that have helped it become the nation’s preferred trade supplier of automotive parts, tools, equipment and accessories. One of the most enduring Burson Auto Parts alliances can be found with the company’s business software solutions provider and innovator, Markinson. Over the past 25 years, this company has accompanied Burson Auto Parts into the digital age through its industry leading Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) based integrated business software solutions. Burson Auto Parts says Markinson’s world class MomentumPro warehousing and inventory management software system first replaced the cumbersome manual processes in April 1996. This was the start of the complete digital transformation of the Burson Auto Parts business and with it came several initial challenges. “The co-operation that we have always received from the Markinson team over the years has been a stand out factor of our long term alliance with the company,” Burson Auto Parts National Trade Sales Manager, Mario Baric, said. “It wasn’t easy to make this transformation, but we worked together to ensure that our warehousing and inventory control software systems were perfectly integrated across our business from the stores to the sales reps on the road and everything in between.” The improvements in efficiency across the entire Burson Auto Parts business, particularly in stock ordering, customer service and inventory control across the company’s several warehouses, represented major leaps forward through the constantly developed, improved and customised Mopro (MomentumProERP) system. Updated versions of this system continue to power the back-end of Burson Auto Parts’ trade sales and warehousing operations to service more than 200 stores and nearly 30,000 loyal trade customers to this day. Markinson’s Application Programming Interface (API) has also provided vital functionality for Burson’s EZYParts online parts ordering system to leverage the intelligence within MomentumPro ERP. The API has also enabled Burson to implement several integrations streamlining a number of key business processes. Working together with Markinson, the MomentumPro API has undergone constant improvement to support these capabilities. The most recent major endeavour for the Markinson and Burson Auto Parts business involves the warehousing integration software currently being used in the enormous new BAPCOR Distribution Centre in Melbourne which is currently in the process of replacing several smaller Burson Auto Parts (and other BAPCOR owned companies) warehouses. This has seen a major level of enhanced inventory control software development and integration from Markinson. For more from Burson Auto Parts, visit www.burson.com.au

CRASH-REDUCING BRAKE TECHNOLOGY TO BE A NEW STANDARD

Life-saving vehicle safety technology now mandated for light vehicles

The Australian Government has mandated Advanced Emergency Braking (AEB) systems for new passenger and light-goods vehicles. Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister, Kevin Hogan, said this vital step is part of the Government’s commitment to improving road safety through strong investment and national leadership to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries occurring on our roads. “Vehicle technology has an important role to play in reducing road trauma, which is why we have introduced new standards that mean AEB systems must be installed in all new light vehicles,” Mr Hogan said. “There will be a progressive roll out of the new standards, which will start to apply from March 2023 – giving manufacturers the time needed to effectively make the transition. “AEB systems detect likely forward collisions with another vehicle or pedestrian, provide the driver with a warning and if the driver does not respond, apply the brakes automatically. “To date, many systems have been unable to detect pedestrians. These new national road vehicle standards would require light vehicle AEB systems to detect likely forward collisions with both vehicles and pedestrians to help keep some of our most vulnerable road users safe as well.” Implementing these new national road vehicle standards is estimated to save 581 lives, and prevent 20,433 serious and 73,340 minor injuries over 35 years. As well as saving lives, the new standards are expected to return a net benefit of nearly $1.09 billion to the Australian economy, after considering all implementation costs. AEB systems capable of detecting collisions with other vehicles must be installed from 1 March 2023 for all new models of vehicles, and 1 March 2025 for all other new vehicles. AEB systems capable of detecting collisions with other vehicles and pedestrians must be installed from 1 August 2024 for all new models of vehicles, and 1 August 2026 for all other new vehicles. The final Regulation Impact Statement, new Australian Design Rules and Explanatory Statements are available at www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2021L01518 and www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2021L01519