Snapshot
- A world first with RHD Bronco, an Australian company with 25 years of experience
- Both vehicles are available in any specification offered in the USA.
- The Tundra is here with the Bronco soon to follow.
With all the talk of right-hand drive versions of American vehicles coming out of the recent Detroit Auto Show, including stories of RHD production of the Ford Bronco, an Australian-owned company has just completed its first left-to-right conversion of a retro Ford. Off-roader
Autogroup International (AGI) is an Australian-owned company with a manufacturing base in Sri Lanka, which has been converting American vehicles from left to right-hand drive for over 25 years. During this quarter of a century of conversions, AGI has exported American pickup trucks, Corvettes, Camaros, Dodge Challengers, Nissan Titans, Mustangs, Lincoln Navigators, Hummers and many other makes and models to RHD markets. Changed including but not limited to Australia.
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AGI is ISO 9001 2015 certified and conforms to the Australian Design Rules (ADR) for conformity of production and its changes are left-to-right mirror image changes. AGI conversions use an all-new dash panel manufactured to OE standards to accommodate steering on the right side of the passenger compartment with the driver ideally behind the steering wheel.
The new Ford Bronco and 2022 Toyota Tundra are the latest vehicles to roll out of the Colombo manufacturing facility with the opposite steering wheel to where it entered the factory.
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The first Bronco to roll out of the AGI factory is the 2-door, 2022 Bronco Wildtrack, but now that the transfer engineering is complete, there’s no reason the process couldn’t be applied to any current-generation Ford Bronco. .
Being based on the same Australian-engineered T6 chassis platform as the Ford Ranger and Everest, the Bronco represented an easy transition for the team at AGI as many RHD parts were available from Ford.
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At the Detroit Auto Show in September, Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said that Ford could make the Bronco in right-hand drive for markets such as Australia, but because the model is currently in high demand in the U.S. Hence RHD production may not be possible. It will not be considered until the domestic market demand decreases. And demand may slow down for two or more years.
The 2022 Toyota Tundra full-size pickup is the second most recent facelift to come out of AGI and, like the Bronco, its facelift benefits from the fact that the latest model now sits on the same chassis platform as a RHD vehicle. is riding In this case it’s a 300-series Land Cruiser that is, of course, manufactured in right-hand drive from the factory, and although they’re built at different factories, both the Tundra and the Land Cruiser ride on variants of the TNGA platform.
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Toyota Australia has recently confirmed that it is currently reviewing the Tundra for release in the Australian market and is working with another conversion specialist, Walkinshaw Automotive, where the conversion from the LC300 steering It will use components like column, rack, paddles and gear shift selector.
The Toyota/Walkinshaw Tundra is currently undergoing testing in Australia and has yet to be confirmed for an Australian launch, although it is widely expected to happen in 2024.
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The Australian owners and local retail arm of AGI is American Vehicles Sales (AVS) based in Rowville, Victoria. James Hill of the AVS said 4X4 Australia Magazine that the Bronco and Tundra are coming to Australia and will be sold here.
“I’ve got the Tundras on their way to Australia now and the Broncos are coming soon. They’ll have to go through approval before they can be registered here but it’ll be very soon,” Hill said.
As for the Tundra, James said the AVS will be able to offer whatever the buyer wants.
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“If somebody wants a single-cab Tundra, we can get it,” he said.
Toyota has said that it will only bring the double-cab Tundra here and only with the hybrid petrol V6 engine.
Check out the range of American trucks and muscle cars already available at AVS Online. www.american.com.au And keep an eye on the site for Broncos and Tundras coming soon.