By Shaun Carney
THE Federal Government will lead a mission of executives, designers and scientists from Australia's car industry to the United States and Britain tomorrow in a search for new business for the troubled sector.
The 20-strong mission, headed by Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Minister Kim Carr and former premier Steve Bracks, will call on the heads of Ford and General Motors in Detroit, members of President Barack Obama's cabinet in Washington, and leading aerospace and technology companies including Lockheed Martin in Britain.
Retaining a car manufacturing industry remains a priority for the Government, but despite the establishment of a $6.2 billion new car plan last year, the sector's future in Australia is still far from assured.
According to the Bureau of Statistics, 16,000 jobs were lost in the industry in the year to May this year - a figure that many inside the sector regard as an underestimate. Those same industry people say the Australian industry is operating at half capacity.
While the US car industry has been hit much harder by the economic downturn, with Chrysler being sold and GM essentially coming under the short-term control of the Obama Administration, signs have emerged in the past month of a rebound in the US sector.
Mr Obama has invested huge amounts of public money to give US car makers a chance of recovery.
The Australian mission aims to try to get a share of this upswing.
Senator Carr and Mr Bracks, who produced a review of the domestic car industry for the Government, want Australian designers, scientists and manufacturers to be involved in a global supply chain.
Ideally, as green car technologies are developed and the big car makers look for ways to reduce overheads, Australian scientists might get contracts to improve battery design or fuel performance and local parts manufacturers would produce the result.
The CSIRO will have a representative in Senator Carr's roadshow.
Senator Carr said it was vital for the leading figures from Australia's car sector to have meetings with their US counterparts.
''It is essential for local manufacturers and parts suppliers to get out there and build capacities rather than waiting for others to come knocking on their doors,'' he said.
''That's the way it's going to be from here on.''