SA's leaders share their future auto vision

Opportunity to diversify

The car industry, like our economy, is in the midst of a great transition.

Where oil dominated the 20th century, electricity will dominate the 21st.

We are at a turning point. 87,217 battery electric vehicles were sold in Australia last year. The market is rapidly growing. All-electric models are now firmly ensconced in the national top 10.

For families and businesses, electric vehicles offer the promise of no longer visiting the petrol pump.

But for our state, the rapid global uptake of EVs presents something even bigger – an opportunity to diversify our state’s industry base, increase our economic complexity and improve our standard of living.

South Australia is already at the forefront of the global energy transition, having transformed its energy system from 1 per cent to over 73 per cent renewable energy in less than 20 years.

For much of the year, our solar and wind energy is plentiful and cheap. The challenge is harnessing it and using it productively.

The State Government has a big agenda in this regard – building the world’s biggest hydrogen electrolyser and power plant in Whyalla, to store that energy and use it productively.

Electric vehicles will provide a further opportunity to harness this clean energy for use when its needed, delivering lower prices, and a more secure electricity grid.

My Government has been quick to maximise the opportunity presented by EVs. In our first year in office, we abolished the former Liberal Government’s short-sighted Electric Vehicle Tax.

We continue to offer a 3-year registration fee exemption.

In partnership with the RAA, we’re delivering a network of EV chargers, which when completed this year will comprise more than 530 charging points right across our great state.

As the number of new and used EVs on our roads grows, so will demand for their service and maintenance.

Battery packs and electric motors present a different challenge to internal combustion engines.

That’s why, in January last year, the state government allocated new funding for training programs in electric vehicle inspection and servicing.

Two accredited courses – for battery and hybrid electric vehicles – will be offered by Registered Training Organisations, including the Motor Trade Association.

We have joined the Motor Trade Association in launching South Australia’s first dedicated electric vehicle training centre.

But our ambitions don’t stop there. Electric vehicles use three to four times more copper than the average internal combustion engine passenger vehicle.

Copper is found in EV motors, batteries and wiring. Highconductivity copper coils convert electricity into motion.

It’s also essential to charging infrastructure: extensive copper wiring runs through charging stations, EV charging cables, and home charging units.

The global movement to decarbonisation and electrification simply can’t happen without copper. And we have a lot of it. South Australia is home to 69 per cent of Australia’s identified copper resources.

Just recently BHP announced exciting results from exploratory drilling at Olympic Dam that hint at the potential for even greater copper output.

A huge global shortfall of copper is looming if we cannot improve the efficient production of known reserves and identify new resources that can be developed within a reasonable timeframe.

South Australia has demonstrated we can meet that expectation. This is our moment.

From Elizabeth to Tonsley, our state has a rich tradition of building cars.

And with our resources, renewable energy and know how, we have what it takes to once again play a central role in delivering the next generation of vehicles.