How Subaru, Nissan, VW and Chery received their begin in Australia, and the place they’re now
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Vehicles just like the Subaru Forester, Nissan X-Path, and Volkswagen Golf are definitely huge elements of why their respective manufacturers are profitable, however there’s extra to their respective producers than these in style fashions.
As we did just a few weeks in the past, we’re evaluating the primary automobiles to be offered in Australia by a number of in style producers with their latest nameplates.
We’ve included solely the most recent nameplates to be supplied in Australia by every of those firms, although current nameplates might have subsequently acquired new powertrains and variants.
That is the second instalment in a function collection. You may learn Half 1 right here.
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Subaru: 360, Solterra
Subaru received its begin in Australia by means of non-public imports, as many different manufacturers did. A used-car seller in Ballarat, Victoria, reportedly imported round 73 examples of the Subaru 360 in 1961, making it the primary Subaru offered domestically.
Weighing simply 450kg and powered by a 356cc two-cylinder engine, the 360 was mechanically compliant with Japan’s Kei automotive laws, and its bubbly styling earned it the “ladybug” nickname. This helped make it immensely in style in its dwelling market as manufacturers sought to motorise Japanese residents post-war.
However in Australia and different abroad markets, the 360 was poorly acquired. This was notably notable in america, the place businessman Malcolm Bricklin imported 10,000 examples, just for the automotive to be criticised for security issues and an absence of energy, resulting in its rejection by the general public.
In the meantime, overheating points plagued the earliest Australian examples, probably attributable to our hotter local weather and higher-speed driving calls for. Whereas a later replace finally remedied the issue, the dealership ceased additional imports amid unsustainable losses brought on by the 360.
Thoughts you, this and subsequent fashions just like the Leone (1973) contributed to Subaru’s fame as a reasonably unremarkable, uninspiring automotive model all through the Seventies and 80s, although the Japanese automaker did have a novel promoting level in its four-wheel drive fashions.
Subaru tried to shift its slightly staid fame with the introduction of sportier fashions just like the XT (1985) and SVX (1993), although these had been largely unsuccessful. It arguably wasn’t till the Impreza WRX launched in 1994 that Subaru really vaulted into the general public eye, with the turbocharged, rally-derived sedan now one in all Subaru’s longest-running nameplates.
A number of different automobiles, just like the Forester, Outback, and efficiency Impreza WRX STI, adopted, cementing the model as a family identify within the Australian market. Although not all the time a top-seller, Subaru constantly locations on the fringes of the highest 10, however Chinese language challengers particularly have shaken issues up.
Subaru’s latest mannequin is meant to tackle lots of these new rivals, but it surely hasn’t been in style up to now. That’s the Solterra, the model’s first absolutely electrical automobile – and a twin to the Toyota bZ4X – that launched in November 2023.
It’s at the moment Subaru’s slowest-selling native mannequin, however orders at the moment are open for a considerably up to date model that brings revised seems, extra energy, extra vary, and improved tech, all at a a lot cheaper price than earlier than.
MORE: Discover the Subaru showroom
Chery: J1 and J11, Tiggo 9
This checklist’s youngest model is Chery, although in 15 years it’s discovered the time to take two bites of the Australian cherry. Its first stab was in 2011, when it launched with the J1 gentle hatch and J11 SUV.
Distributed independently by Ateco, which is now answerable for manufacturers like Renault and Ram, Chery’s first two automobiles (and the J3 small hatch that shortly adopted) rapidly fell afoul of presidency laws mandating digital stability management.
Whereas this initially barred the model from Victoria, the federal implementation of those laws compelled the model to discontinue the J1. That wasn’t earlier than its value was slashed to an astonishing $9990 drive-away, making it one of many solely sub-$10,000 drive-away automobiles offered post-2000.
The opposite difficulty these automobiles confronted was security. A 3-star ANCAP score for the J1 prompted Chery to recall the mannequin and tackle the structural integrity of its seats, whereas the J11 might solely handle two stars.
Later updates to the J3 and J11 introduced new engines and digital stability management, however an absence of manufacturing unit assist from Chery quickly noticed the model’s Australian operation wither away by 2015.
Chery’s second and present Australian effort kicked off in 2023, this time with full manufacturing unit backing from its Chinese language head workplace. In March 2023 it re-launched with the Omoda 5 SUV (now C5), which recorded greater than 5000 deliveries in its first yr on sale – rapidly surpassing the 4670 gross sales recorded by Chery as a complete in its first try.
Since then, Chery has skyrocketed to turn into a top-15 model in Australia, repeatedly threatening Western stalwarts like Volkswagen and Nissan. It’s even knocking on the door of the highest 10, following on from compatriots BYD, GWM, and MG.
Chery has most lately determined to shake up its model positioning. The Omoda Jaecoo model has launched with standalone Omoda and Jaecoo fashions – complicated, we all know – whereas Chery itself has continued to introduce new nameplates.
The newest is the Tiggo 9, a big plug-in hybrid SUV due for an imminent Australian launch.
MORE: Discover the Chery showroom
Nissan: Sort 12 Phaeton, Ariya
The primary Nissan imported to Australia wasn’t referred to as a Nissan in any respect. As an alternative, and maybe unsurprisingly, it was a Datsun, and particularly the Sort 12 Phaeton in 1934.
In accordance with Nissan, the Sort 12 Phaeton is “the oldest mannequin of Nissan that had been already manufactured in December 1933 when [Nissan Motor Corporation] was established”, making it the oldest mannequin within the model’s heritage assortment.
Coming into manufacturing earlier in 1933, the Sort 12 Phaeton measured in at underneath three metres lengthy and produced simply 9kW of energy. Using ‘Phaeton’ refers to its physique type, because it was a convertible four-seater with a material roof; it’s to not be confused with Volkswagen’s future ultra-luxury Phaeton flagship which sarcastically wasn’t a phaeton in any respect.
It outdated the Sort 11 that launched in 1932, with the one distinction being a bigger engine – such was the tempo of Nissan that the Sort 12 was changed by the Sort 13 in 1934. The Sort 13 was supposedly extra trendy.
Following that, the primary Nissan-badged mannequin, the 70 sedan, broke cowl in 1937.
After shifting focus to construct vehicles, airplanes, and engines for the Japanese navy forward of the Second World Struggle, Nissan returned to constructing automobiles. Among the many first automobiles born out of restarted improvement was one thing arguably forward of its time: the Tama, a completely electrical automotive with slightly below 100km of vary, inbuilt response to grease shortages.
Whereas not dropped at Australia, the Tama loosely foreshadows Nissan’s latest nameplate. However between then and now, Nissan launched the primary Patrol domestically in 1960 (two years after Toyota launched the rival LandCruiser FJ25), and established Nissan Australia in 1966 with the opening of a producing facility in Sydney.
From 1983, the Datsun identify was phased out, and within the 2000s Nissan Australia largely phased out passenger automobiles in favour of SUVs, with exceptions being the GT-R, 350Z and 370Z sports activities automobiles. It additionally supplied the electrical Leaf, which paved the best way for the model’s latest native nameplate: the Ariya.
The much-delayed electrical SUV was a very long time coming for Australia, given it debuted in 2020. With as much as 504km of driving vary and the choice of all-wheel drive, the Ariya launched in September 2025.
MORE: Discover the Nissan showroom
Volkswagen: Sort 82 “Kübelwagen”, Tayron
The primary Volkswagens in Australia emerged from the Second World Struggle. The story goes that whereas preventing in North Africa within the early Forties, Australian troopers turned the primary from our nation to come back into contact with the German Volkswagen.
The German military had elected to make use of the Ferdinand Porsche-designed Kübelwagen as gentle transport automobiles within the area, with a number of examples captured by the Australian troopers and used behind the strains by Australian area officers. All Kübelwagens had been left within the African desert when Australian forces had been withdrawn in 1943.
Quick ahead to 1946, and the Australian Military imported a wartime Kübelwagen sourced from Wolfsburg (Volkswagen HQ) by the British Military, thus making it the primary Volkswagen in Australia. Remembering its competence through the battle, the Military wished to judge the Kübelwagen in native situations for potential Australian use.
That precise Kübelwagen is now a part of the Australian Struggle Memorial’s assortment in Canberra. The primary VW passenger automobiles adopted in 1947, when Australia bought eight automobiles as a part of wartime reparations for £160 every (round A$11,000 right this moment).
Six stayed in Germany, whereas two (a Sort 11 sedan and Sort 51 sedan with Kübelwagen working gear) had been shipped to Melbourne as prototypes. The primary Volkswagen to be privately imported and owned, nonetheless, was a black, right-hand drive 1946 mannequin, imported in 1951 by a German immigrant.
Volkswagen established an official Australian subsidiary in 1953, with the primary automobiles arriving on the market in November of that yr. Tax incentives prompted a shift to native meeting, with the Beetle the primary to see large-scale Australian manufacturing.
1967 even noticed the arrival of the primary Australian-developed VW, the Nation Buggy (resembling the enduring Factor), constructed from Beetle and Kombi parts. Native meeting continued at Clayton, Victoria, till 1976, when Nissan took possession and management of the previous Volkswagen plant.
After a tumultuous Eighties, the German model slowly grew to cement its place within the Australian market. Our abridged historical past can’t go with out mentioning the Dieselgate scandal, wherein Volkswagen was caught in 2015 dishonest in emissions testing of a few of its diesel fashions.
However regardless of this, Volkswagen has been a constant top-15 model within the Australian market in recent times. Its newest new nameplate is the Tayron, a seven-seat SUV primarily based on the Tiguan that serves as a direct alternative for the defunct Tiguan Allspace. It launched in September 2025.
MORE: Discover the Volkswagen showroom
