It may be all on its own, but Australia is a big place with a lot of people. Despite the oceanic gap between other continents and it, many major Australian car brands have come from the United States and Europe to set up their own subsidiaries in this country.
The continent of Australia is one of the few countries that has the ability and manpower to design cars from the ground up and manufacture them in large volumes. The country is best known for large passenger vehicles. The high point of the countries automobile industry was in 1970 when it was creating half a million cars each year. This made it 10th highest manufacturer in the industry.
The major brands currently producing vehicles in Australia are Holden, Ford Australia, and Toyota Australia. We’ll explore each one in-depth as we see how these subsidiaries are changing and the industry and introducing new and exciting designs.
Ford-Australia
Ford Australia
This well-known American company has a major subsidiary in Australia that was founded in Geelong, Victoria in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. In that time, Ford Canada was an entirely separate company from the USA version. Henry Ford himself allowed Canadian investors to manufacture the brand in British Commonwealth countries (except the UK).
The first cars to be manufactured by Ford Australia were the Model Ts made from complete knock-down kits that were provided by Ford of Canada. This subsidiary is best known though for the Falcon which was originally a U.S model that was brought to Australia in 1960.
The car was modified to meet the requirements of the countries automobile standards, and it was changed to reflect the various road conditions. After the release of the XA model in 1972, the Falcons were fully designed by Australian manufacturers. There is also a four-wheel-drive model produced by Ford Australia called the Territory.
Ford Australia is also the only car brand in Australian to design and manufacture unique high-volume engines.
Holden
Holden is an Australian automaker that is headquartered in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company began in 1856 as a manufacturer of saddlery. In 1908 they transitioned into the field of automotive. This was before they became a subsidiary of GM. After they point, it was renamed General Motors-Holden’s Ltd. The name was shortened to Holden Ltd in 1998 and fully adopted in 2005.
Holden is solely responsible for the GM’s vehicle manufacturing in both Australia and Asia. They also held partial ownership of GM Daewoo in South Korea between 2002 and 2009. Over the years the company has offered a wide range of automobile options to the general public.
The company imports vehicles to sell on GM’s behalf, but they also have access to plenty of resource which allow them to build cars within the country. There is a manufacturing plant in Elizabeth, Australia where the vehicles are assembled. The engines are manufactured at Fishermans Bend plant in Port Melbourne, Australia.
The company’s story starts in 1852 when James Alexander Holden emigrated to South Australia from Walsail, England. He set up a saddlery company in Adelaide called J.A. Holden & Co. Henry Frederick Frost, a German man joined the business in 1885 as a junior partner. The name was then changed to Holden & Frost Ltd.
The grandson of James, Edward Holden joined in the firm in 1905 and brought with him a keen interest in automobiles. The firm evolved into a business doing minor repairs for the interior upholstery of various automobiles. When World War I broke out, restrictions forced the company to start working on full-scale productions of vehicle body shells.
This led to J.A Holden founding a new company in 1919 called Holden’s Motor Body Builders Ltd or HMBB for short. The company took off, reaching 12,000 units per year by 1923. They were the first company to assemble bodies for Ford Australia until they finished building their Geelong plan.
This eventually led into them becoming the exclusive supplier of car bodies for GM in Australia, leading them to their position of power and authority today in the region.
Toyota Logo
Toyota Australia
The Toyota Motor Coporation Australia (TMCA) is a subsidiary of the Toyota Motor Corporation which is based out of Japan. They are responsible for all of the marketing, advertising, and business operations in Australia. They are also responsible for all of the Lexus automobiles in Australia.
Toyota Australia first began in 1958 when Land Cruisers were imported by Thiess Toyota for the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric scheme. It didn’t take long for production to begin. In 1963 the Australian Motor Industries began assembling Toyota branded vehicles. They were built at the production plant in Port Melbourne.
The first run of vehicles was focused on the Toyota Tiara. A major player in the process of establishing Toyota Australia was a man by the name of Kennath Hougham. In 1972, Toyota bought out the British Leyland’s interest in the Australian Motor Industries and announced plans to build a new production plan.
The facility was built in Altona, Victoria and began producing engines in 1978. The first car to be exported by Toyota Australia was the Toyota Corona wagon in 1986. It was shipped to New Zealand. In 1992, the one-millionth locally manufactured Toyota was built. In 2005, the ten-millionth one was produced at the TMCA Altona Plant
Throughout the history of Toyota Australia, many different cars have been produced. Here are some examples:
- Tiara
- Corona
- Corolla
- Camry
- Avalon
In 2010, the company began production on the Camry Hybrid after they secured a $35 million subsidy from the Australian Government. The first locally produced model was showcased in 2011 and driven by the prime minister of the time, Kevin Rudd.
The Future of Australian Automobiles
Sales of these automobiles have wavered in recent memory. While the 1970s was a high point for Australian car brands, numbers have dwindled since. This is a result of changing customer preferences and economic changes. There is still a dedicated following but many production plants have announced plans to shut down within the next several years.
What does this mean for you? Well, with production ceasing, this cars will quickly become a collector’s item. We recommend buying in now and saving them for a few years as the plants close. The value will increase as they become increasingly rare as a result.
