Chair's Message

Frank Agostino, MTA SA/NT Chair

Welcome to our special EV edition of Motor Trade Magazine!

Motor Trade Magazine has a proud history of bringing you the latest automotive industry news across the Northern Territory. So it only seems fitting to shine a spotlight on one of the most important evolutions in the industry’s history – the electrification of transport.

Electric vehicles are not new. In fact, some of the earliest examples date back to the mid-1800s. Since the global launch of the Toyota Prius in 2000, we have seen the electrification of vehicles go mainstream.

There are some people who will tell you that electric vehicles will never happen and others who will tell you that we will all be driving one tomorrow. The truth is that neither side is correct, but it’s clear that electric vehicles are here to stay and will play an important role in the decarbonisation of transport in Australia.

2023 was a significant milestone for full battery electric vehicles, with sales of new EVs increasing by 315 per cent compared with the year prior. To put this into context, electric vehicle sales now make up 2.8 per cent of all new cars sold and together with hybrids make up 11.8 per cent.

While we know that Territorians love their utes and 4X4s and will continue to rely on them, the transition to zero and low emission vehicles is well underway.

Our efforts are likewise focused on upskilling the close to 2,000 skilled technicians in automotive repair and maintenance, as well as preparing businesses to adapt for tomorrow’s customers.

For the Northern Territory, this means more MTA electric vehicle training in the future, in addition to our strong advocacy to government at a Territory and Federal level.

As you will see across this publication, the spirit of innovation and exciting pace of change does not only limit itself to passenger vehicles. Whether it’s the charge towards electrification in mining, the cuttingedge use of autonomous technology in agricultural machinery or the potential for battery reuse, repair and recycling, there is much to witness.

Blink and you will miss it.

While we know many are considering an electric vehicle, this transition is not without its challenges. Affordability in particular remains one of the top obstacles stopping ordinary Territorians from their next purchase being an electric vehicle.

Despite the often-cited factor of range anxiety, the reality is that electric vehicles are being fitted out with generous capacity, with 450kms range and greater becoming commonplace. Charging infrastructure on the other hand must be at the forefront of thinking by decision makers, because while a city commute has confirmed proof of concept, overseas experience demonstrates that ‘queue anxiety’ reigns during long weekends and holiday periods.

Finally, we need a partnership approach with government in training the next generation of apprentices and upskilling our existing industry to work on all vehicle technologies from internal combustion, hybrid, to battery. And in the not-so-distant future, maybe even hydrogen.

Looking at the road ahead and I see an exciting future full of enormous potential and opportunity.

I trust you will enjoy this special edition of Motor Trade Magazine and come away with more than a few insights on what this extraordinary transformation will mean for the Territory.