Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie is at the centre of another party row after hitting out at “nameless cowards” and “muppets” who criticised him over a social media monologue about the loss of Australia’s car industry.

Hastie’s Instagram post featured him standing by a red vintage Ford Falcon, which he used as an example of the “physical things” the country used to build.

“It’s a beautiful piece of craftmanship. It’s horsepower, it’s heritage, it’s grit and it’s an Aussie car made by Aussie workers for the Australian people.

“We used to make complex things in this country… competition drove innovation in our car industry. But that’s all gone.”

Hastie, who last week threatened to quit the Liberal frontbench if the party did not abandon its 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target, claimed both the Liberals and Labor had let Australia down in the past by “letting the car industry disappear from our shores”.

He attacked the Albanese’s government for selling off Australian coal and gas and “denying” the country the cheap energy he believes is necessary for the manufacturing industry.

The Australian’s Judith Sloan penned a column labelling the video “bizarre” and “corny”, suggesting it appeared to be a “veiled tilt at the Liberal leadership”.

Sloan argued Hastie was “living on another planet if he thinks a fossil fuel-dominated electricity grid would be enough to persuade large-scale investment in local manufacture of passenger motor vehicles”.

Hastie bit back with a further post defending his comments.

He then took aim at anonymous Liberal Party colleagues who spoke to The Australian criticising his policy change campaign – which also includes statements on immigration – and questioning how he had paid for his Instagram video about car manufacturing.

“Nameless cowards briefing in the paper,” he wrote.

“It was filmed by competent, patriotic gen Z staffers you muppets.”

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan spoke out in support of Hastie, saying “the most frustrating thing in politics is the cowards that don’t put their name to comments”.

“I have no issue with people disagreeing with me but I really can’t stand people that snipe without even have the guts to do so in the open,” Canavan wrote on social media.

“Good on you Hastie for calling this BS out!”

Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who was sacked from the shadow cabinet after refusing to apologise for her controversial comments about Indian migrants and then failing to endorse Sussan Ley’s Liberal leadership, also weighed in on the row.

“It seems like the factional warlords are in overdrive with their pathetic backgrounding efforts to undermine a debate our country must have,” she wrote on Facebook.

“Andrew Hastie asks an important question, ‘What sort of country do we want to be?’.”

Speaking to 2GB Sydney on Wednesday, Price backed Hastie to lead the Liberal Party, stating: “He is so good at what he does.”