In a hint of Australia’s continued role in car manufacturing, a carbon fibre wheel made in Geelong will be featured on the new Shelby Mustang GT350R vehicle.

Local company Carbon Revolution was chosen by Ford USA to supply carbon fibre wheels, hailed for their improvements to performance and handling, as well as their massive weight savings of more than 40 per cent compared to more traditional rims.

Carbon Revolution chief executive Jake Dingle says “Anything that can save that much weight in such a critical part of the vehicle is going to get a lot of attention - it has been a very difficult thing to do”.

“We've been the first to be able to do this.”

The rims are gaining renown in racing circles, but the new Mustang will be the first production car to feature the high-tech rollers.

“This is a significant achievement and demonstrates that Australia is continuing to play a very important role in supplying the global auto market,” says Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane.

But the boost comes amid tough times in traditional manufacturing cities like Geelong, where big companies including Ford and Alcoa are closing down operations.

For some, it is a sign that a growing number of smaller companies carving out their own niches could lead the way out of the gloom.

“There's a transition from the older technology and the older industries to newer technology and newer industries,” the Geelong Manufacturing Council's Mike Williams told the ABC

“Even though the new companies may be smaller than the traditional employers in Geelong, there's many more of them and they are producing products that are truly for a global market.

“The mindset definitely is changing in Geelong, we are seeing pockets of people who really do get it - people who realise that the future is with advanced manufacturing,” Mr Williams said.

Carbon Revolution was a beneficiary of a large investment and innovation fund set up to help ease the pain of Ford and Alcoa's Geelong exit.

The company has pledged to add more than 100 jobs as it cranks up production.

Mr Dingle said the Mustang deal would be a big help, but the company is always looking for new avenues in which to sell its products.

“This technology has a very obvious place in the aerospace industry and that's been confirmed by a lot of international aerospace companies so that could potentially create a whole separate division of this business which will create more jobs again,” he said.