Australia built its own cars for most of the twentieth century. At its height the industry made almost half a million vehicles a year, and names like Holden and Falcon became part of everyday life. Then, within about a decade, the big car factories closed one by one.
This refreshed history of Australian car manufacturing replaces an earlier version of the post that mixed up several dates and companies. It covers the early pioneers, the growth of the big local makers, the closures and the businesses that remain. The facts below have been checked against the sources listed at the end of the page.
The beginnings of Australian car manufacturing
The first cars built here were one-offs. Herbert Thomson and Edward Holmes made the Phaeton, a steam car, in 1896, and it is regarded as one of the first true Australian-made cars 1. In 1901 Harley Tarrant built the Tarrant, described as the first petrol-driven car built entirely in Australia 1.
Government policy soon shaped the industry. From 1917 vehicle bodies had to be made in Australia 1. That rule helped local body builders grow, and one of them would become the biggest name in Australian motoring. Holden had been founded in 1856 as a saddlery in Adelaide 2. It moved into car bodies and, in 1931, became General Motors-Holden's Ltd 2.
The American companies also set up here. On 31 March 1925 Ford announced that its Australian headquarters would be in Geelong, Victoria 1. The first Ford assembly plant there opened on 1 July 1925 3. Our history of Ford Australia follows that company in detail.
The first mass-produced Australian car
The turning point came after the Second World War. The first Australian-designed mass production car was built by Holden in 1948 1. The Holden 48-215 was launched on 29 November 1948, and Prime Minister Ben Chifley attended the launch 2.
The rest of the industry followed Holden's lead with cars of their own. Ford's first Falcon came off the line at Broadmeadows on 28 June 1960 3. Chrysler Australia began assembling the Valiant in 1962 and opened its Tonsley Park plant in Adelaide in 1964 6. Our history of Chrysler Australia tells the Valiant story.
Smaller companies built cars too, often under licence. Australian Motor Industries, based in Port Melbourne, negotiated with Daimler-Benz in 1958 to assemble and distribute Mercedes-Benz cars 5. In April 1963 it assembled the first Toyota built outside Japan, the Toyota Tiara 5. Toyota took a controlling interest in the company in 1968 5.
The Port Melbourne business shows how local assembly worked for brands without a big factory of their own. Its Mercedes-Benz work was substantial for its time: 729 locally assembled Mercedes-Benz cars were sold between July 1959 and June 1960 5. During the 1961 credit squeeze the company sold its share of the Mercedes-Benz franchise to the German parent 5. Toyota, meanwhile, raised its holding to 50 per cent in 1971, the company became AMI Toyota Ltd in 1985, and Toyota bought the remaining shares in 1987 5.
The peak years
The industry grew quickly through the 1960s. Output rose to a maximum of almost half a million vehicles a year in the 1970s, with about 475,000 built in 1970 1. In that era the big locally built sedans were the default family car.
Local design kept getting stronger. Ford launched the XA in June 1972, the first all-Australian Falcon 3. Holden introduced the Commodore in 1978 2. The Falcon overtook its Holden rival as the best-selling car in 1982 and stayed number one until 1988 4.
Even in the 2000s the factories were still busy. Output exceeded 400,000 vehicles in 2004 1. It was 388,985 in 2005 1.
Australian ideas and exports
Australian factories did more than assemble foreign designs. In 1934 Ford released a coupe utility designed locally by its engineer Lewis Bandt 3. The body style, a car cabin with an open tray behind it, became so common that the word "ute" is now part of Australian English.
Engines were designed and built here as well. Chrysler Australia opened an engine plant at Lonsdale in November 1967, and in 1970 it launched its own 245 cubic inch Hemi six-cylinder engine 6. Ford built straight-six and V8 engines at Geelong until 26 September 2016 3.
Some Australian cars found buyers overseas. The Mitsubishi Magna and its Verada sibling became the first Australian-made vehicles exported worldwide in large numbers, mostly as the Mitsubishi Diamante 8. Its biggest export market was the United States 8.
That depth of skill is the real legacy of the factories. Australia was one of 13 countries with the capability to design and develop mass-market cars from scratch 1. Much of that engineering knowledge now works in other parts of the motor industry, from heavy vehicles to the design of utes that are built elsewhere.
The long decline
The industry's problems built up over decades. Imported cars took a growing share of sales, and local factories had to build fewer models in smaller numbers. Some makers left early. Nissan closed its Australian car assembly lines in 1992 1. Toyota moved its production from the historic Port Melbourne factory to Altona in 1994 5. Holden had already consolidated its final assembly at Elizabeth in South Australia by 1989 2. Fewer, larger plants were the industry's answer to falling volumes, but they could not reverse the trend.
The numbers tell the story. Output fell to 223,354 vehicles in 2009 and to 167,538 in 2015 1. Mitsubishi was the next large maker to stop. Its local passenger car production ended in March 2008, when the Tonsley Park plant closed 1 7. Our history of Mitsubishi Motors Australia covers that closure.
The final closures
The end came in a rush of announcements between 2013 and 2014 1. In May 2013 Ford said it would stop building cars in Australia in October 2016 1. Its announcement on 23 May 2013 said 1,200 jobs would go 3. In December 2013 Holden announced the end of its local manufacturing 1, and on 10 February 2014 Toyota announced that it would stop making vehicles and engines here 1.
The factories then closed in turn. Assembly at Ford's Broadmeadows plant ended on 7 October 2016 3, and the final Falcon, a blue XR6, came off the line that day 4. Toyota's Altona plant closed on 3 October 2017 1. On 20 October 2017 the last Australian-built Holden Commodore was produced and the Elizabeth plant in South Australia shut down 2.
The Holden name did not survive long after that. On 17 February 2020 General Motors announced that the Holden brand would be retired by 2021 2.
Why the factories closed
There was no single cause. The sources point to a market that changed around the factories. Ford's announcement cited an after-tax loss of A$141 million for the 2012 financial year 3, a sign of how hard it had become to build cars here at a profit. Annual output had already fallen by more than half from its peak 1.
Buyers' tastes moved too. The large rear-wheel-drive sedans that local factories were built around lost ground, and buyers turned to imported small cars, SUVs and utes. By 2025 the best-selling vehicles in the country were the Ford Ranger, the Toyota RAV4 and the Toyota HiLux, all of them imported 9.
What is still made in Australia
The closures did not end all vehicle manufacturing. The mainstream automotive manufacturers still building in Australia all make heavy vehicles 1. Kenworth has built heavy vehicles here since 1971, Mack since 1963 and Volvo since 1972, and bus builders such as Bustech and Denning also operate 1.
Some of the closures reached into these businesses too. Iveco ended local manufacturing at Dandenong in June 2022 1. The last tyre factory, Bridgestone's plant at Salisbury in South Australia, had already closed in April 2010 1.
Design work also continued. Ford kept its design and development centre here 1, and it developed the current Ranger in Australia 3. In 2025 that ute was the country's best-selling vehicle, with 56,555 sales out of 1,209,808 new vehicles sold 9.
Owning a piece of the history
The cars from the local factories are now part of the used and classic market. A late-model Commodore or Falcon is still an everyday car for many owners. Earlier cars, from the 48-215 of 1948 2 to the GT Falcons and Valiant Chargers, have become collector pieces.
Parts are worth thinking about before you buy. With the local factories gone, many parts for Australian-built cars now come from specialist suppliers or from other cars of the same family, so ask a mechanic who knows the model how easy the common items are to find. A car that is cheap to buy can still be costly to keep on the road if a key part is scarce. Owners' clubs for the major local makes can often point you to the right suppliers.
If you are shopping for one, find out exactly which model and series you are looking at, and check its history and paperwork before you pay. Browse cars for sale on Car Domain and read our buying safety tips first. The Wikipedia history of the Australian car industry has the full list of makers and plants, and the FCAI's 2025 sales summary shows what Australians buy now.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Automotive industry in Australia, accessed 2 November 2026
- Wikipedia, Holden, accessed 2 November 2026
- Wikipedia, Ford Australia, accessed 2 November 2026
- Wikipedia, Ford Falcon (Australia), accessed 2 November 2026
- Wikipedia, Australian Motor Industries, accessed 2 November 2026
- Wikipedia, Chrysler Australia, accessed 2 November 2026
- Wikipedia, Mitsubishi Motors Australia, accessed 2 November 2026
- Wikipedia, Mitsubishi Magna, accessed 2 November 2026
- Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Australia's new vehicle market remains resilient, accessed 2 November 2026
