How Australia’s Carbon Revolution collapsed owing nearly $300 million
This cutting-edge wheel maker supplied the biggest brands, but new documents show how this Aussie manufacturing dream came crashing down.
A new document has revealed how Australian firm Carbon Revolution has gone from building lightweight carbon-fibre wheels for major car brands such as Ferrari, Ford, and Chevrolet, to entering administration with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.
The Geelong-based manufacturer, founded in 2007 and employing over 300 people, has become the leading supplier of carbon-fibre wheels to car companies looking to reduce weight in their fastest and most extreme models.
Carbon Revolution entered administration in March with debts of about $345.5 million, after recording losses totalling $347 million over the past four years, with plans to return to private ownership in order to keep the business alive.
A recent report by administrators McGrathNicol details a timeline of woe that led to the company entering voluntary administration, and states that Carbon Revolution had been unable to service its debts since December last year.
MORE: Carbon Revolution, Australian supplier of carbon-fibre wheels, enters administration
“The Administrators’ preliminary investigations indicate that CBR Group became insolvent on or around early December 2025,” the report stated.
Carbon Revolution’s failure came after multiple cancellations of future new-model projects from key customers – some believed to be electric cars.
The first customer cancelled its order in July 2024, followed three months later by reports from two customers that they had “excess inventory” of Carbon Revolution’s highest-produced products for their current models.
By October 2025, three programs had been cancelled across two major customers, Carbon Revolution has laid off over 100 staff, CEO Jake Dingle has been let go, and the board was looking to sell.
But the customer cancellations were just one of many challenges that pushed the Geelong-based firm to the brink.
MORE: Carbon Revolution – Geelong wheel maker to gain 500 employees (2018)
Administrators marked November 2023 as the beginning of the events that led to their appointment.
Carbon Revolution had just listed on the NASDAQ, one of the world’s biggest stock exchanges, but its auditors wouldn’t sign off that it was a “going concern”, generally defined as a business that is operating, making a profit, and expected to remain as such for the immediate future.
Without this sign-off from auditors, Carbon Revolution couldn’t raise funds, despite its listing on the NASDAQ.
Now unable to raise much-needed money, an investor named Orion Infrastructure Capital provided ongoing support to Carbon Revolution via secured loans across the roughly two-year period leading up to the appointment of administrators earlier this year.
Documents show Orion Infrastructure Capital (OIC) is owed $232 million by Carbon Revolution.
MORE: Australian company Carbon Revolution eyes Mexico plant (2023)
However, the investment firm has suggested that it is willing to waive this debt in exchange for full ownership of Carbon Revolution – a proposal administrators have recommended to creditors, as it does not want to shut the company down, and has not found a new owner despite engaging with 145 potential buyers.
The deal, known as a deed of company arrangement, would allow for at least 354 staff to remain employed by the Carbon Revolution group, and for unsecured creditors owed money to likely receive more than they would if the business were liquidated.
Even if the business survives, Carbon Revolution’s long-term manufacturing future in Australia remains uncertain.
In the report, it was noted that both the directors of Carbon Revolution and administrators from McGrathNicol attributed the Geelong-based firm’s failure in part due to its location in Australia.
MORE: Carbon Revolution – Geelong wheel manufacturer going public (2019)
“[Administrators consider the key reasons of failure to be] Operations being located in a high-cost environment, including being located a substantial distance from most key suppliers and customers,” the report stated.
“[Directors attribute the failure to] … [Carbon Revolution’s] Australian location and financial position precluding new program wins; and failure to secure sufficient wheel volumes to reduce trading losses and meet forecasts on an ongoing basis.
“…high manufacturing costs as a result of the Group’s sole manufacturing location being in Australia, including higher than expected inflation.”
Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues, and “slowing demand for EVs” were also included amongst challenges for the Geelong-based manufacturer.
Carbon Revolution exists as part of a complicated company and ownership structure, but has been referred to as Carbon Revolution throughout this article for clarity. The full report from administrators McGrathNicol can be read here.
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