Detective Sergeant Sol Solomon, from the homicide squad, said ballistics experts were working to determine just how many guns were used in the attack with at least two bullet holes clearly visible on the car.

He said while the victim was known to police, very little else was known about the 43-year-old.

“It’s a combination of a very nasty road collision which ended up in what appears to be a fatal shooting,” he said.

“From what we’ve been able to glean so far from the very sketchy information we’ve got … is it’s shaping up to be a targeted attack.

“It’s too early to tell what the motivation is behind this at this stage.”

Sergeant Solomon said Major Collision Investigation Unit specialists were assisting in the investigation and helping to reconstruct the crash.

His message to those responsible: “we will identify you”.

“These are people that have just been involved in the taking of someone’s life with a firearm,” Sergeant Solomon said.

“It’s in everybody’s interest including their own to be arrested and taken off the streets and the firearm to be seized.”

“It would be advisable just to hand yourself in now.”

A State Emergency Services tent has been set up, next to a damaged white vehicle, to preserve the crime scene.

A bullet hole can be seen in the front windscreen.

An Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman confirmed paramedics took two men aged in their 20s to Geelong hospital with minor injuries.

Traffic diversions are in place and motorists are being urged to use the Geelong Ring Road instead.

It’s not the first time shots have been fired across the busy stretch of road.

In 2014, a man was filling his truck with fuel at the nearby North Geelong when a second group opened fire. As the victim fled the scene in a car, the group followed, firing a sawn-off .22 rifle across traffic.

One of the bullets was later found lodged in the Ford Motor Company building across the dual lane highway.

Anyone with information on the latest shooting, including dashcam footage, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.