And, a recent tour of one of the Asian powerhouse’s vehicle plants has proved this beyond a shadow of a doubt, at least to Honda President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe.
“We have no chance against this,” Mibe said upon a visit to a Shanghai parts factory, commenting on its seamless automation across all levels of production. Logistics, procurement and all aspects of the process were so automated, in fact, that he did not spot a single human worker on the supplier’s floor.
Ford executives saying even three years ago that China was way ahead of the game
Toyota’s CEO has likewise said regarding not just his company, but the industry in general, “unless things change, we will not survive”
Mate, you’re all over the shop.
So to address the initial point, I’m now in the UK where roads are much narrower than Oz, and yes I’m driving in Oz every few years.
The basic issue is not that small cars aren’t available in Australia, it’s that no one buys them. A holden or ford ute, or a Volvo station wagon was a large car in the 80s, now the supersized Yank trucks (and the Jap ones made for the American market) are everywhere. A Toyota Hilux now is massively bigger than it was 25-30 years ago. If people didn’t buy them, they’d stop selling them. The traditional ute was selling at the same time as the 4wds that got bigger and bigger - and wiped out their market share even before the Libs killed the car industry.
So. You can buy small cars in Oz, and you can buy small EVs - it’s just that no one actually buys them.
BYD Atto is small even by Euro standards,
https://bydautomotive.com.au/atto-1
ditto the Fiat 500
https://www.fiat.com.au/fiat/500e-electric
There’s probably more I can’t be arsed looking up.
Bottom line your issue is with your fellow drivers buying tanks instead of smaller cars, they exist, and many are in fact sold to city buyers, both in dino juice and electric versions