HISTORY AUSTRALIA’S MOST AUSTRALIAN MOTOR COMPANY W wick Budd

In 1959 the advertising for Standard undertook a subtle but important change of direction. The advertising introduced a new company name and an accompanying advertising slogan. Since 1952 this Australian company had been trading as Standard Motor Products Ltd but would now be known as Australian Motor Industries or simply AMI.

The change of name recognised that the company had begun to diversify its range of products that would be assembled at Port Melbourne. Not a break away from the important connection to the Standard Motor Company in the UK, but the first of the new contracts which saw the assembly of Mercedes Benz vehicles and the creation of another new company, Mercedes-Benz (Australia) Pty Ltd. Two thirds of the shares were owned by AMI.

Over the following years similar contracts were negotiated with AMC for Rambler cars, Fiat for a replacement for the and Toyota for the first assembly of their cars outside of Japan. As late as 1976, when AMI was widely recognised as the company that produced Toyota vehicles in Australia, the Australian public shareholding remained at a healthy 50%.

Australian ownership and public shareholding had long been an important feature. The success of the company was founded by the Crosby family who gained the agency for Standard cars in Victoria in 1929. Control of the NSW agency was taken up in 1936 and both agencies were combined to form a new company, Standard Cars Ltd, in 1938. The sale of Standard cars was increasing each year and the new company had a nominal capital of £250,000 and offered 50,000 shares for public subscription. When Standard Motor Products Ltd (SMP) was formed in 1952 there were nearly 3,000 shareholders and 88% were Australian.

SMP was to control the assembly of Standard and Triumph cars at the new factory complex at Port Melbourne and the sale of cars and in Victoria and NSW. A 25-year contract was signed for the ‘progressive manufacture of Standard and Triumph vehicles in Australia.’ You may notice that this contract agreement takes us forward to 1977 when the last Triumph 2500s were being assembled in Australia.

Though John Black was nominally the president of SMP, Arthur Crosby remained chairman of the holding company and his brother, Clive Crosby, was the managing director. With the product and technical support of the Standard Motor Company UK and the large Australian shareholding in the company, SMP was able to take an independent position when it came to how Standard cars were produced for the Australian market. In the early 1950s Australia was the largest export market for Standard cars.

John Black appeared to have a good working relationship with the Crosby family but after his resignation in 1954 there were differences of opinion with the management in . The new Vanguard 111 received a certain amount of criticism from some of the Australian agents and local modifications such as the notorious Vanguard fins were not approved by the UK board. Neither were they happy with the ‘fire sale’ of Triumph Heralds to clear stocks during the financial crisis of 1961. The relationship could become very strained at times.

Despite the differences of opinion some good things were to come out of the relationship. There were models and features that were unique to Australia and the names were sometimes changed to reflect local conditions. Spacemaster, Cadet and Family 10 come to mind, with the kangaroo mascot proudly on the bonnet. Other models were not sold in Australia and some were created or developed independently. The Mayflower ute, the Triumph 12/50 and the MD are examples of this independent thinking though they sold in limited numbers. Even the Triumph 2500 TC owes much to AMI as the model was assembled and sold in Australia for more than 12 months before its official release in the UK. Who takes the credit for the development of this new model? May 2020 The Triumphant Standard 5 Perhaps the vehicle which bests represents the relationship between Coventry and its Australian partner is the Vanguard 111 utility. Standard had changed direction with its commercial vehicle policy when it introduced the Atlas range in 1958. Three of the Atlas models were displayed at the Commercial Motor Show at Earls Court, London in September. Together with a pair of Standard 10s (Pick-up and Van), all five vehicles were finished in Jamaican Yellow. The display also featured a new chassis designed to use the Vanguard mechanicals and front body panels with cab. This was provided for ‘customers requiring special bodywork’.

Some Atlas commercials were brought to Australia, but they were not suitable as a replacement for the rugged Vanguard ute. The phase 11 ute had been given a styling upgrade with new chrome strips and a mesh grill, but it was starting to show its age against the more modern looking opposition. The solution was an Australian designed and produced replacement which continued to use a chassis construction for extra strength. The project was developed in cooperation with Standard UK but was unique to Australia for local conditions. The rear body panels were produced in Australia and some chassis were bodied in England. There is a photo of the British version in Graham Robson’s Standard book, but it is a clumsy looking vehicle when compared to the Australian model.

It is safe to say that Standard Cars, SMP and AMI were truly Australian companies and not just an assembly subsidiary for British cars. So how does the AMI claim Prototype Atlas van under test somewhere in to be the most Australian stack up against the giants of Europe. From the official press release, 16th the Australian motor industry? Especially Holden? September 1958.

6 May 2020 The Triumphant Standard