Australia's EV skills squeeze: classic conversions proceed as mechanic shortfall persists

Classic conversions already under way in Australian workshops

Electric repowering of classic cars is being practised by at least one Australian specialist workshop. Australian Electric Vehicle Specialists has documented a Jaguar E-Type electric conversion in its workshop walk-around series, with Kienan walking through the project as the E-Type is repowered, according to the company's #ClassicEV archive page. ⁴

The same publisher's electric vehicle conversion archive highlights the fabrication side of the trade, recording John and Kienan fabricating custom brackets for two classic Mercedes-Benz conversions. The workshop states these projects show how important quality engineering and fabrication are when converting classic vehicles to electric. ³

A documented national mechanic shortfall

The specialist skills this work relies on sit against a wider industry shortage. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Motor Trades Association of Australia executive director Bruce Billson puts the national shortfall at roughly 38,000 mechanics, a problem he describes as separate to the unexpected surge in electric vehicle uptake and the fact that working on electrified vehicles requires additional training. ²

The Herald also reports that even body work unrelated to the drivetrain, such as wheel alignments or body repairs, requires knowing how to safely depower and repower a vehicle's battery, underlining how broadly electrification training now reaches across the trade. ²

Upskilling efforts and migration policy

Training at manufacturers with more mature electric line-ups runs at higher levels than in the independent sector. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that 50 per cent of BMW Group Australia's 600 in-house technicians can work on electrified vehicles, while Billson warns that convincing independent workshops to invest in upskilling can be difficult while a majority of Australia's vehicle fleet still uses combustion engines. ²

The Herald further reports that mechanics were left off the list of skills exemptions under the federal government's new migration caps announced that week, which the report says adds to the question of whether Australia is equipped for its earlier-than-expected electric vehicle transition. ²

The demand backdrop: EVs surge past a quarter of new sales

The pressure on workshop skills comes as electric vehicle uptake accelerates sharply. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that in August 2025 fully electric models held a 10 per cent share of Australia's new vehicle market, and that last month they reached 25 per cent, while pure petrol and diesel models dropped from 69 per cent to less than 50 per cent over the same period. Cox Automotive analyst Mike Costello described the change as an enormous change in a very short amount of time, calling it a tipping point for Australian EV uptake. ²

Earlier in the year the trajectory was already clear. The Driven's industry podcast, reported on EV Finder's news page, recorded electric vehicles reaching 20 per cent market share in a record month for the Australian EV market, with Tesla maintaining its top position among brands at that time. ¹

The Herald also notes concerns about whether the servicing ecosystem can scale with the sales surge. It reports Billson's warning that some newer manufacturers may not reach critical mass and could leave vehicles hard to service, and its account of Cox Automotive's view that companies growing from zero to a huge number of sales must scale up the support ecosystem behind them, where legacy makers such as Toyota hold decades-long customer relationships. ²