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Rootes Australia was the Australian affiliate of the Rootes Group, a British motor vehicle manufacturing company.

The company was formed immediately after the Second World War initially operating as an importing and distribution firm. It began assembling Hillman Minx
Hillman Minx

The Hillman Minx was a series of middle-sized family cars produced under the Hillman marque by the Rootes between 1932 and 1970. There have been many versions of the Minx over the years, as well as various badge-engineered versions which were sold under the Humber , Singer , and Sunbeam Car Company marques....
 vehicles at Port Melbourne in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)

File:Map Victoria Aboriginal tribes .jpgVictoria is a States and territories of Australia located in the southeastern corner of Australia. It is the smallest mainland state in area but the most Population density and urbanised....
 in 1946. This was the first instance of a British motor manufacturer establishing a production line in Australia.






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Rootes Australia was the Australian affiliate of the Rootes Group, a British motor vehicle manufacturing company.

The company was formed immediately after the Second World War initially operating as an importing and distribution firm. It began assembling Hillman Minx
Hillman Minx

The Hillman Minx was a series of middle-sized family cars produced under the Hillman marque by the Rootes between 1932 and 1970. There have been many versions of the Minx over the years, as well as various badge-engineered versions which were sold under the Humber , Singer , and Sunbeam Car Company marques....
 vehicles at Port Melbourne in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)

File:Map Victoria Aboriginal tribes .jpgVictoria is a States and territories of Australia located in the southeastern corner of Australia. It is the smallest mainland state in area but the most Population density and urbanised....
 in 1946. This was the first instance of a British motor manufacturer establishing a production line in Australia. By 1954 the company had gained a 5.4% share of the local market and subsequently announced plans to create a full local manufacturing facility. A 35 hectare site was acquired for this purpose at Harrisfield, near Dandenong in Victoria however the proposed plant was never built.

Hillman, Humber
Humber (car)

Humber was a United Kingdom automobile marque which could date its beginnings to Thomas Humber's bicycle company founded in 1868. In 1931 it was taken over by the Rootes brothers to become part of the Rootes Group....
 and Singer
Singer (car)

Singer was an automobile company founded in 1905 in Coventry, England. It was acquired by the Rootes of the United Kingdom in 1956. The British Singer company had no connection with the Singer company of Mount Vernon, New York, New York, USA, who made luxury cars from 1915 to 1920....
 models were assembled successfully for a number of years with the company also producing models which were hybrids of the three makes. However by the mid 1960s falling sales and an ageing model line-up meant the Rootes Group was in trouble both in Britain and Australia . In December 1965 Rootes Australia was merged with Chrysler Australia
Chrysler Australia

Chrysler Australia is a trading name for DaimlerChrysler Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd. It is the importer of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles for sale in the Australian marketplace....
 and assembly was gradually moved from Port Melbourne to the latter’s existing facilities in Adelaide
Adelaide

Adelaide is the List of Australian capital cities and most populous city of the Australian States and territories of Australia of South Australia, and is the fifth-largest city in Australia, with a population of more than 1.1 million....
, South Australia
South Australia

South Australia is a States and territories of Australia of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
. Chrysler was quick to phase out the Humber brand however new Hillman Arrow and Hunter
Hillman Hunter

Rootes Arrow was the manufacturer's name for a range of automobile produced under several badge engineering marques by the Rootes from 1966 to 1979....
 models were introduced. Chrysler Australia ceased production of Hillmans in 1973.

Significant models produced by Rootes Australia included the following:

  • Hillman Minx
    Hillman Minx

    The Hillman Minx was a series of middle-sized family cars produced under the Hillman marque by the Rootes between 1932 and 1970. There have been many versions of the Minx over the years, as well as various badge-engineered versions which were sold under the Humber , Singer , and Sunbeam Car Company marques....
     - assembled from 1946.
  • Humber Super Snipe
    Humber Super Snipe

    The Humber Super Snipe was a car produced by the British based Humber car company, part of the Rootes....
     - assembled from 1953.
  • Humber Hawk
    Humber Hawk

    The Humber Hawk was a large four cylinder saloon produced by the British based Humber car company, part of the Rootes....
     – assembled to 1964
  • Singer Gazelle
    Singer Gazelle

    The Singer Gazelle name has been applied to two generations of automobile from the United Kingdom manufacturer the Rootes Group, using the Singer marque....
     - assembled from 1957 to 1961
  • Humber Vogue
    Hillman Super Minx

    The Hillman Super Minx was a automobile from the United Kingdom Rootes Group. It was a slightly larger version of the Hillman Minx, from the period when the long-running Minx nameplate was applied to the "Rootes Audax" series of designs....
     - assembled from 1962 to 1965.


External links

  • Hillman Minx Series IIIC Special (1962)sales brochure - Retrieved on 21/6/08
  • Humber Vogue Mk2 image - Retrieved on 21/6/2008
  • Rootes Australia Factory - Retrieved on 22/6/08