Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Pratt for her question. A Perth company, Orbital Australia, has been awarded a $440,000 grant from the Green Car Innovation Fund to develop its carbon-cutting engine technology for the Chinese auto maker Changan Automobile. Orbital will carry out this work, under the grant, in Perth. This is great news for Western Australia and great news for the Australian auto industry. It is the latest in a series of success stories for the government’s A New Car Plan for a Greener Future. This is a plan which is transforming the automotive industry, and it has put it on a more environmentally and economically sustainable footing. It is also based on the principles of partnership and mutual obligation.

Consistent with those principles, Orbital will more than match the grant with investment of its own. That support will be provided through Orbital’s development of its FlexDI engine management and combustion system. The air-assisted direct injection technology has the potential to deliver best-in-class fuel economy for passenger cars and other applications. It will be applied to Changan’s four-cylinder petrol engine to produce a car that complies with the new Chinese fuel economy standards.

Changan is China’s fourth largest auto maker, with sales of 1.8 million vehicles last year and projected sales of 2.2 million vehicles this year. The partnership between Orbital and Changan Automobile is an important development in Australia’s deepening relationship with the world’s biggest car maker. (Time expired)