What Cars Are Made in Australia?

What cars are made in Australia? It’s not surprising that this question is hugely popular on the Google search trends list. Over the past few years news about the Australian car market has hogged global headlines and continues to be a hot topic. This is because there’s a new focus to electric vehicles. Before we unpack what cars (if any) are still currently made in Australia and why it’s so topical… let’s rewind a little.

The end of an era

It’s been five years since the Australian car market came to a grinding halt. Global giants Mitsubishi, Ford and Toyota turned off the lights to their production plants across the country at different points between 2004 and 2017. The final blow came in 2017 when GM Holden shut its doors after making cars here for 100 years.

The Australian car market’s demise was blamed on factors including:

• High manufacturing and labour costs.
• Rising inflation rates on the dollar in a small market.
• The shift in Aussies’ preference to imported SUVs and small cars with lower engine capacities from Japan, Korea and Thailand.

It’s hard to comprehend that in 2004 the Holden factory pumped out 165,000 cars. Yet in 2016 Ford, Holden and Toyota combined sold just 87,000 locally made cars. Shocking right?

The folding of the Australian car production market has had devastating effects such as mass job losses.

A view of the Australian car market in 2022

Now that you’re up to speed with facts, let’s tackle this persistent question that keeps popping up – what cars are made in Australia? Petrol vehicles? Hybrid vehicles? Electric vehicles? Are there any at all these days

Currently, there are no cars being completely made in Australia. But it’s not all doom and gloom! As with anything in life there’s only one way things can go when you hit rock bottom and that’s up.

Although the Australian car market may be “too small” in terms of economic viability for the usual fish to swim in now, it doesn’t mean things can’t turn around in the future. When greater efficiencies can be achieved locally it won’t be impossible to rebuild.

What cars are made in Australia … soon?

Even though things have been grim over the past five years, this hasn’t deterred local players from seizing a window of opportunity.

Despite there being no cars made in Australia in that no cars are fully manufactured on home soil, there’s been a spike in the demand for international vehicles to be locally modified to suit the Australian car market and conditions. What has been a nonviable investment for the big fish has become a glimmer of hope and a steady revenue stream for local engineering companies.

Here are some great examples:

• Segula Technologies Australia’s ongoing project to convert the US-built Ford F-150 full-size pick up truck to right-hand drives.
• The popularity of utes among Aussies is also adding a positive spin to things. The Walkinshaw Group has been on a roll over the past few years, re-engineering a range of GM models. It also currently converts thousands of RAM Trucks, Chevrolet utes and Volkswagen’s Amarok ute.
• Premcar, another local company is responsible for transforming Nissan’s Navara into the Warrior right here in Melbourne.
• Toyota still tailors its top-selling Hilux for Aussies internally.

The future answer for ‘what cars are made in Australia?’

It’s no secret that it’s impossible to turn back the clock – so maybe it’s time to look to the future and rebuilding? And it seems experts have put their money behind electric vehicles (EVs), which is currently a business moving in the upward direction.

Electric vehicles dubbed as the future

Why not leverage the popularity of hybrid vehicles and fully electric vehicles to recreate the fallen Australian car manufacturing sector? And at the same time make the question of what cars are made in Australia something people don’t even ask anymore?

A new report by the Australia Institute’s Carmichael Centre believes this is the way forward.

It states how the country can revive its car manufacturing industry in an “environmentally and socially transformative” way. It reveals how Australia’s rich mineral resources can help achieve this, being used to make electric vehicles locally.

Government is also backing the move and is working on an EV strategy and options for fuel efficiency standards. They reckon this is “a chance to give Australians access to the world’s best transport technology”. Now that’s something to certainly look forward to, right?

If you plan to spoil yourself with an EV in the near future, check out our article on how to choose the best electric car for you. Also, read our article about the most fuel efficient cars in Australia if you’re looking for a new ride and to save a few dollars on your petrol bill.

Here’s a look at the top-selling electric cars in Australia, according to Canstar.com:

• Tesla Model 3
• Tesla Model Y
• Hyundai Kona Electric
• Kia EV6
• Hyundai Ioniq
• BMW iX
• Hyundai Ioniq 5
• Mini Cooper Electric
• Polestar 2
• Nissan Leaf

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