Standard and Triumph Australian Vehicle Registration Statistics Part 2 – Triumph Herald and 12/50 Robert Bensley

This second article in this series covers the Triumph Herald and 12/50 range of vehicles.

The Triumph Herald was launched in Australia in 1959 replacing the Standard 10 range. By 1959 the Standard 10 was available in sedan, station wagon, utility and panel van variants although only the sedan sold in reasonable numbers. The Herald launched with sedan, coupe and convertible, all 2 door and all powered by a 948cc engine.

Most Australian Heralds were assembled in Melbourne by AMI. Australia was never to see the wagon (estate), Courier van or Vitesse 1600 or 2 litre 6 cylinder variants available in the UK. If AMI had any temptation to create a utility to replace the outgoing Standard 10 utility, it was resisted.

The first two Heralds were registered in August 1959 with volume sales commencing in October that year, the same month the first convertibles were registered. By year end 1,623 sedans/coupes and 17 convertibles had been registered. (Registration statistics do not separate sedan and coupe).

The Herald sold strongly at the start of 1960 with monthly registrations reaching 747 in March. For 1960, 6,465 sedans/coupes and 293 convertibles were registered. Unfortunately for the Herald that was as good as it got sales wise. November 1960 saw the start of the ‘credit squeeze’ and a mini budget which increased the sales tax on motor vehicles. Sales of all cars plummeted and the Herald was no exception. Although the sales tax increase was later reversed, sales of sedans/coupes in 1961 fell to 3,568. Convertible sales bucked the trend rising to 592. 1962 saw an increase in engine capacity to 1147cc but it was not able to prevent a fall in sales to 1,040 sedans/coupes and just 36 convertibles. Perhaps it was the onset of Mini Mania but the Herald was never again to sell in reasonable numbers.

The final iteration of the Herald series in Australia was the Triumph 12/50 introduced at the end of 1963. Note the name Herald had now been dropped. Visually the car was distinguished by use of the Vitesse bonnet with twin sloping headlights. This made the Australian 12/50 different to the UK Herald 12/50 which retained single headlight styling. The Triumphant Standard June 2016 edition contains an article by Norman Kerr on his 12/50 with photos at the top of page 17. Only 288 12/50 sedans and 188 coupes were made making it rare and the most sought after version made in Australia.

Assembly of the 12/50 finished in early 1966. Small numbers of cars were registered for the next 4 years with the final registration being recorded in January 1970. There was not to be another small Triumph sedan in Australia until the Dolomite arrived in 1975.

August 2016

The following table shows the number of Heralds and 12/50 registered by year and body type :

Type 19 196 196 196 196 196 196 196 196 196 1969 197 Total 59 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 Sedan 16 646 356 104 790 360 277 54 30 23 10 1 14,241 * 23 5 8 0 Conv. 17 293 592 36 938

Total 16 675 416 107 790 360 277 54 30 23 10 1 15,179 40 8 0 6 * Includes coupe.

AMI production figures for the Herald and 12/50 are available on the internet courtesy of an article by Dale Hickman from Tasmania titled ‘A Different Slant on the Herald’. There is good correlation between this data and the registration figures. The following table shows the number assembled by AMI by model and year:

Model 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 Total Herald Sedan 948cc 1758 5094 1261 8,113 Herald Coupe 948cc 406 2439 777 3,622 Herald Convertible 747 205 8 960 948cc Herald Sedan 1147cc 7 1038 556 112 1,713 Herald Coupe 1147cc 5 130 135 12/50 sedan 202 80 6 288 12/50 coupe 27 93 24 144 Total 2164 8280 2250 1051 713 407 104 6 14,975

Convertible assembly ceased in 1962, probably in preparation for the introduction of the Spitfire the following year.

Readers may notice the number registered is slightly higher than the number assembled by AMI. A clue to why this may have occurred is 17 convertibles were registered in 1959 but the first convertibles were not assembled by AMI until 1960. This suggests there were some imported vehicles among at least the early stock. Perhaps some club members know more. Observant readers may also notice the number of convertibles produced is 22 higher than the number registered. I have no explanation for this other than the registration data is only as accurate as the people completing the vehicle registration paperwork. If the wrong body type is ticked, that is what gets recorded.