by TL;DR – buy direct from the manufacturer, not a dealer
No US factory warranty: Once a US pickup is exported and converted to right hand drive, the American new vehicle warranty does not apply. Your only real protection is the local manufacturer’s engineering, warranty and support.
Buy from the actual manufacturer: Autogroup International designs, engineers, manufactures, tests and converts your right hand drive American pickup in a multi million dollar, ISO 9001:2015 certified, Australian Government approved facility, then supports it through our Australian team and global network.
Insured, multi layer protection: You are covered by Autogroup International’s own conversion warranty, a five year unlimited kilometre insured mechanical warranty administered by National Warranty Company, and NRMA Absolute Cover 24/7 premium roadside assistance with strong towing and continuity benefits.
Why many others do not offer this: A properly structured third party warranty plus top tier roadside assistance for a heavy American pickup can easily cost $8,000 or more over the coverage period. Many sellers simply leave it out and keep that $8,000 in extra margin. We choose to invest it back into your protection.
Serious scale and support: Around 250 people in Australia, Sri Lanka, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, more than 30 engineers, global parts warehouses in Australia, Sri Lanka and Canada, an Australia wide and worldwide list of approved repairers, and a dedicated Customer Service team whose full time job is to support Autogroup International clients.
Why you should buy your right hand drive American pickup direct from the manufacturer in Australia
By Rob Hill, CEO, Autogroup International
Australia has fallen in love with American pickups. Ford Super Duty, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and other full size American pickup trucks are now common sights on our roads, job sites and caravan parks.
There is one critical detail most buyers never see.
Once these vehicles leave the United States and are remanufactured into right hand drive vehicles for Australia, there is no US factory warranty quietly backing you up. Your safety, your warranty and your resale value all depend on what happens in the conversion process, and on who actually converted your truck.
That is why my message to Australian buyers is very simple:
Buy your right hand drive American pickup direct from the manufacturer, not through a dealer reselling someone else’s engineering.
Autogroup International is that manufacturer. Many others are not.
Dealers, converters, remanufacturers – and where Autogroup International really sits
When people look at the right hand drive American pickup market in Australia, they usually see three types of businesses.
- Dealers, who focus on selling whatever product they can source
- Converters, who are seen as the people that move the steering wheel and controls to the right hand side
- A small group of Australian remanufacturers, who do relatively high volume of a very narrow range of vehicles, assembling from third party manufactured components
Those Australian remanufacturers are usually set up to build one or two specific models. They work with large batches of components supplied by outside vendors, then distribute those vehicles through mainstream dealer networks. Many of those dealers are very comfortable working on passenger cars and light SUVs. In my experience, they are often less familiar with heavy duty American pickup trucks, serious towing, high payloads and long distance work in Australian conditions. When an issue relates to the right hand drive conversion itself, the dealer is still dependent on a separate engineering or production centre somewhere else in the chain.
Autogroup International is built very differently.
I do not run a dealership, and I do not run a basic conversion shop. I lead an integrated global automotive design, engineering, component manufacturing, service and conversion company that specialises in right hand drive American pickup trucks, Muscle cars, EVs, armoured vehicles,, luxury interior transformations and American SUVs. We are proudly a 100% Australian owned automotive manufacturer that happens to work globally.
As a business we bring together, under one banner:
- Automotive design and engineering
- Automotive component manufacturing
- Right hand drive conversion and international compliance
- Vehicle armouring and luxury interior transformations
- Vehicle service and repair capability
- Spare parts warehousing and global logistics
- Accessory fitment, upgrades and customisation
- Dedicated customer support and warranty management
Our primary right hand drive conversion facility in Sri Lanka is a multi million dollar manufacturing and engineering plant, built from the ground up for this work. We established our facility in Sri Lanka over 23 years ago and today it delivers the worlds best right hand drive converted vehicles. It is:
- ISO 9001:2015 certified specifically for the design and implementation of modifications to left hand drive vehicles
- Operated under a full Conformity of Production model, so we can re manufacture any Autogroup International conversion component to the same specification whenever it is needed
- Approved by the Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts as a testing facility, with Testing Facility Approval Number TFA-017966 valid to 24/11/2030 for our homologation and compliance work
- Supplying vehicles into more than 40 right hand drive countries worldwide, from workhorse pickups and SUVs through to armoured vehicles and CEO level luxury interiors
We have around 250 people across Australia, Sri Lanka, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, including more than 30 mechanical and electrical engineers whose full time focus is right hand drive engineering, safety, durability and compliance.
So when you see the name Autogroup International on a right hand drive American pickup in Australia, you are not dealing with:
- A dealer that has bought someone else’s conversion and added margin
- A small converter whose role stops once the steering wheel has been moved
- A basic local remanufacturer assembling a narrow range of vehicles from third party parts
You are dealing directly with the company that designs, engineers, manufactures, tests, converts, services and supports that vehicle globally. That is what buying direct from the manufacturer means in practical terms.
Why buying through a dealer costs more and gives you less control
In a dealer reseller model, the chain usually looks like this:
- The vehicle is built left hand drive in the United States.
- A conversion company remanufactures it to right hand drive
- An Australian dealer buys that converted vehicle, adds their own margin and sells it to you under their brand.
Every layer has to make a profit. By the time the truck reaches your driveway, it has usually carried:
- A margin for the conversion company
- A margin for the dealer
- Double handling, extra transport and duplicated marketing overhead
You pay for all of that, but you do not get extra engineering, extra safety or extra warranty. You are simply paying for another sign over another showroom door. You are not dealing with the genuine experts.
When you buy direct from Autogroup International as the manufacturer:
- There is still a fair and transparent margin
- You are not paying again for a dealer margin on exactly the same engineering
- You have a direct relationship with the company that actually built your right hand drive conversion
On a six figure pickup, avoiding that extra layer can mean more truck for the same budget, or a very meaningful saving for the same specification.
If you take nothing else from this article, take this question:
“Are you the company that actually converts this vehicle to right hand drive, or are you reselling another company’s conversion and adding your margin on top?”
Ask that at the start of any conversation. The answers tend to be very revealing.
No US factory warranty – your only safety net is the local manufacturer
Once a pickup has been exported from the United States, remanufactured as a right hand drive vehicle and sold in Australia outside an official OEM program, the original US new vehicle warranty no longer applies.
Those warranties are written for vehicles that are registered and normally operated in the US and Canada. They are not written for vehicles that have been shipped to another continent, rebuilt and certified under a completely different regulatory system.
That means your only meaningful protection is:
- The engineering quality of the right hand drive conversion, and
- The local warranty and support package that sit behind it
In a dealer reseller model there are three parties in the story:
- The US manufacturer, who no longer covers your truck
- The conversion company, who did the engineering but may remain invisible
- The dealer, who took your money and issued its own warranty
If something major fails in year three or four, it is very easy for those parties to point at each other. And whether it is a dashboard issue or a major engine rebuild (like $20,000 – $30,000) who is going to support you?
When you buy direct from Autogroup International, responsibility is clear:
- We design, engineer and manufacture the right hand drive conversion
- We hold the compliance approvals and engineering documentation
- We issue and support the warranty and service network
- We insure your vehicle by an APRA approved and trusted warranty company
There is no confusion about who owns the problem if something does go wrong.
Dealer funded warranties versus a true manufacturer backed program
Because there is no US factory warranty behind your right hand drive American pickup, the structure of your Australian warranty is not a “nice to have”. It is your only shield.
Many resellers promote warranties that are proudly “underwritten by us” or “backed by our group”. That usually means:
- The warranty is funded by the dealer’s own balance sheet
- There is no independent warranty underwriter behind it
- The same people who profit from selling you the truck also decide whether your claim will be paid
If the dealer is sold, restructures or decides to move away from that product, your protection is at risk. And in the Australian market we see this happen – with several happening in 2025. You cannot fall back on Ford or General Motors in Australia for a grey import conversion.
There is also a very simple commercial reason why many sellers do not offer a proper insured mechanical warranty and a genuine 24/7 premium roadside and continuity package. For the type of heavy duty American pickups we are talking about, a correctly structured third party warranty plus top tier roadside assistance can easily cost $8,000 or more over the coverage period.
To be blunt, the reason many do not include a third party warranty and full 24/7 premium roadside assistance is that they save the $8,000 plus it costs to offer this to clients. That money either shows up as real protection for you, or it stays in someone else’s margin.
We built our program very differently.
When you buy a right hand drive American pickup direct from Autogroup International, you receive three complementary layers of protection, all anchored by the fact that we are the manufacturer. And a simple commitment that we wanted to have the best warranty on right hand drive converted vehicles in Australia – it is our moral obligation.
Layer 1: Autogroup International conversion warranty on right hand drive components
First, there is our own conversion warranty, which covers the right hand drive components we design, engineer and manufacture ourselves.
We do not buy generic conversion kits from third parties, and we do not shop for the cheapest parts in anonymous factories, we do not source from China…. Our engineering team over over 30+ engineers create:
- Dashboards and interior panels
- Structural brackets and mounting systems
- Steering and pedal components
- Switch panels, trim and many other specialised parts
All of this is done in our own ISO 9001:2015 certified facility under a documented Conformity of Production system. That means:
- We control the design, materials and tolerances
- We validate safety and durability in house
- We can re manufacture the same part again to the same standard whenever needed
To support that, we operate spare parts warehouses in Australia, Sri Lanka and Canada, so we can get the right components to the right place quickly, whether your truck is working in Melbourne, regional Queensland, North America or Africa.
If there is an issue with a right hand drive component:
- We know exactly how it was designed and built
- We can trace it through our quality system
- We can replace or improve the part from our own manufacturing capability
That is what a true manufacturer’s warranty looks like in the right hand drive conversion world. And we are financially sound, global and multi-million dollar business that has been doing this for 33+ years.
Layer 2: five year unlimited kilometre insured mechanical warranty
Secondly, our vehicles in Australia are covered by a five year unlimited kilometre insured mechanical warranty administered by National Warranty Company.
This is a professional mechanical breakdown program, not a simple “underwritten by us” promise. It is designed to help cover the cost of major mechanical and electrical failures across the vehicle, subject to the policy terms, including key systems such as:
- Engine and internal components
- Transmission and driveline
- Selected electrical systems and other major items
Because it is administered by a specialist APRA regulated warranty provider, you benefit from:
- Clear written coverage and limits
- A structured claims process designed to pay legitimate claims
- Access to an Australia wide network of approved repairers, not just a single workshop
Together with our conversion warranty, this means both the right hand drive engineering and the core mechanicals are supported by organisations that expect to stand behind the vehicle for the long term.
Layer 3: NRMA Absolute Cover roadside assistance and continuity benefits
Third, we include NRMA Absolute Cover roadside assistance for Autogroup International vehicles in Australia.
Absolute Cover is NRMA’s top tier roadside assistance for vehicles up to 12 tonnes, ideal for full size American pickup trucks that tow heavy caravans, horse floats or trailers.
It provides:
- Unlimited call outs, 24/7, Australia wide, via a dedicated phone line
- Help with mechanical breakdowns, jump starts, lockouts, tyre changes and emergency fuel
- Generous towing entitlements in metro, country and remote areas, with your trailer or caravan towed to the same destination as the tow vehicle
For a major breakdown, Absolute Cover also includes a significant continuity assistance allowance each year, which can contribute to:
- Car rental
- Accommodation
- Vehicle transport
- Public transport costs
So, to put it simply:
- Our conversion warranty covers the right hand drive components we design and manufacture
- Our five year unlimited kilometre insured mechanical warranty helps cover the big ticket items across the vehicle
- Our NRMA Absolute Cover makes sure you get help on the roadside and can keep moving if something goes wrong away from home
This is what total protection looks like when you buy direct from the manufacturer.
Australia wide and worldwide support, not “bring it back to our yard”
Right hand drive American pickups in Australia work hard. They tow caravans and horse floats, haul boats and machinery, and clock up serious kilometres across state borders.
A typical dealer reseller model often assumes that:
- You will bring the vehicle back to their specific workshop for major warranty work
- You will service only with them or a very small partner network
- Any modification or accessory fitted somewhere else becomes a grey area in coverage
That is not realistic if you live in another state or work in remote areas.
At Autogroup International, we support our vehicles with:
- An Australia wide network of approved repairers, including our own Melbourne service centre and trusted partners across the country
- A growing worldwide network of approved workshops in key markets, so our vehicles can be supported close to where they operate
- Spare parts warehouses in Australia, Sri Lanka and Canada, backed by our Conformity of Production process
- A dedicated Customer Service team whose full time job is to support Autogroup International clients, coordinate repairs, manage warranty claims and keep vehicles on the road
You are not left dealing with a dealership receptionist juggling new car sales and used car trade ins. You are dealing with people whose only focus is Autogroup International vehicles.
Business models change. Engineering responsibility does not.
The converted pickup market in Australia has already seen:
- Remanufacturers announce that the last vehicle has rolled off their production line, then direct customers to a different company for support
- Dealer brands run last clearance and run out campaigns that clearly signal a change of direction
- Businesses that once promoted themselves as right hand drive pickup specialists now focus more on accessories, tyres and conventional servicing
There is nothing wrong with companies changing strategy. It is part of business life. The hard reality is this is a tough business that requires scale, financial resources and benefits from operating at a global scale.
From a buyer’s perspective, however, it emphasises one uncomfortable truth:
If your warranty is just a dealer funded promise, and that dealer changes direction, your very expensive pickup can quickly become an orphan.
The one organisation that cannot walk away from its responsibility is the actual manufacturer of the right hand drive conversion. Regulators, auditors, homologation papers and engineering documentation all point to that entity.
This is exactly why I tell people to buy direct from the manufacturer, not through a dealer. The closer you are to the company that engineered and manufactured your right hand drive conversion, the more secure you are over the life of the vehicle.
Engineering quality: mirror image manufacturing, not shortcuts
Warranty and support are important, however the starting point is always the quality of the conversion itself.
We do not perform simple steering swaps or trim factory panels to make them fit.
At Autogroup International, our teams:
- Strip the original left hand drive interior and use CAD based design to create near mirror image right hand drive layouts
- Design and manufacture new dashboards, consoles and trim components in house
- Re engineer steering systems, pedal boxes and mounts to meet strict safety and compliance requirements
- Validate airbag systems and safety electronics so they perform as intended in a right hand drive environment
- Apply a 1,626 point quality control process to every vehicle passing through our facility
The same engineering depth that goes into our armoured vehicles and CEO level luxury interiors for global clients also goes into the right hand drive American pickups we deliver to Australian buyers.
When you buy through a dealer, you are buying whatever conversion they have chosen. When you buy direct from Autogroup International, you are buying the conversion we have engineered, tested and built under our own name.
A global success story, still owned by the same family
Autogroup International:
- Started converting American pickup trucks in Melbourne in the early 1990s
- Has grown into a global success story, supplying right hand drive vehicles into more than 40 countries
- Remains 100 percent family owned, with my father Peter Hill and I still actively involved in the business every day
In a market where dealer groups and brands can be bought, sold and rebranded very quickly, that continuity matters. It means the name on your compliance documentation is not going anywhere.
The value equation: cost, protection and peace of mind
Put all of this together and the value equation is very clear.
Buying through a dealer
- You pay for the converter’s margin and the dealer’s margin
- You deal with a brand that did not design or manufacture your right hand drive conversion
- Your warranty is often funded and controlled by a single dealer
- The dealer may have limited control over component design, manufacturing or parts supply
- A change in ownership or strategy can leave your truck exposed
- They simply do not have the engineering or technical expertise
Buying direct from Autogroup International as the manufacturer
- You avoid paying an unnecessary dealer margin on the same engineering
- You deal with the company that actually designs, engineers and manufactures your right hand drive conversion in its own multi million dollar, ISO 9001:2015 certified, Australian Government approved facility
- Your conversion components are covered by the manufacturer’s warranty and supported by Conformity of Production and global parts warehouses
- You have a five year unlimited kilometre insured mechanical warranty administered by a specialist
- You have NRMA Absolute Cover roadside assistance and continuity benefits across Australia
- You have access to an Australia wide and worldwide list of approved repairers and a dedicated Customer Service team
- You are partnering with a 250 person, multi country organisation with more than 30 engineers and vehicles working in over 40 right hand drive countries
For a right hand drive American pickup that you will rely on for towing, work and family travel, that combination of better value, stronger protection and genuine manufacturer backing is exactly what you want.
The question every Australian buyer should ask
My family has spent 30+ years in the industry. I have seen what happens when people buy because a showroom looks impressive, a sales pitch sounds good or a dealer badge feels familiar, without asking who is really behind the right hand drive conversion.
So before you commit to any right hand drive American pickup in Australia, ask one question first:
“Am I buying this truck direct from the actual manufacturer of the right hand drive conversion, or am I paying a dealer margin on someone else’s engineering?”
The answer to that question will tell you almost everything you need to know about price, warranty, support and peace of mind for the years ahead.
If you have a question then call my team on (03) 9765 1300 or drop me a personal note on [email protected]
FAQs
Is it better to buy a right hand drive American pickup in Australia from a dealer or direct from the manufacturer?
For serious buyers, it is almost always better to buy direct from the manufacturer of the right hand drive conversion, not from a dealer that is simply reselling someone else’s engineering. When you buy through a dealer you pay their margin on top of the converter’s margin and you deal with a brand that did not design, engineer or manufacture your right hand drive conversion. When you buy direct from Autogroup International, you deal with the company that actually designs, engineers, manufactures, tests and converts your vehicle and stands behind it for the long term.
Does my right hand drive American pickup in Australia still have the original US factory warranty?
No. Once a US built pickup is exported and remanufactured as a right hand drive vehicle for Australia, outside an official OEM program, the American new vehicle warranty does not apply. Those warranties are written for vehicles registered and used in the US and Canada, not for vehicles that have been rebuilt and certified under Australian regulations. This is why the local manufacturer’s engineering quality, warranty and support are critical, and why buying direct from Autogroup International matters.
Why is buying through a dealer riskier for warranty and support?
When you buy through a dealer that resells another company’s conversions, there are three parties involved in any problem: the US OEM, the converter and the dealer. The US OEM usually does not cover the vehicle in Australia, the converter can be invisible to you, and the dealer often funds its own “underwritten by us” warranty. If something major fails in year three or four, it is very easy for those parties to point at each other. Buying direct from Autogroup International removes that ambiguity, because the same organisation that engineered and manufactured the right hand drive conversion also issues and supports the warranty.
What warranty and roadside assistance do I get if I buy direct from Autogroup International?
When you buy direct from Autogroup International in Australia you receive three layers of protection:
NRMA Absolute Cover roadside assistance, NRMA’s top tier program for vehicles up to 12 tonnes, with unlimited call outs, strong towing benefits and continuity assistance if a major breakdown occurs away from home. This combination is designed to give you protection, not just a promise.
Our own Autogroup International conversion warranty on the right hand drive components we design, engineer and manufacture.
A five year unlimited kilometre insured mechanical warranty administered by National Warranty Company, covering major mechanical and electrical components subject to the policy terms.
What makes Autogroup International different from typical Australian converters or remanufacturers?
Autogroup International is not a dealer and not just a converter. We are an integrated global automotive design, engineering, component manufacturing, service and conversion company. We operate a multi million dollar right hand drive facility in Sri Lanka that is ISO 9001:2015 certified, run under a full Conformity of Production system and approved by the Australian Government Department of Infrastructure (Testing Facility Approval TFA-017966). With around 250 people across Australia, Sri Lanka, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, including more than 30 engineers, we convert and support vehicles for more than 40 right hand drive countries, not just Australia.
Do Autogroup International design and manufacture their own right hand drive conversion components?
Yes. Autogroup International designs, engineers and manufactures its own right hand drive conversion components rather than buying generic kits from third parties. Our teams create dashboards, brackets, steering and pedal components, interior panels and many other parts in house using CAD, dedicated tooling and ISO 9001:2015 quality systems. Because we run a Conformity of Production model and maintain parts warehouses in Australia, Sri Lanka and Canada, we can re manufacture and supply the same components for the life of the vehicle. A dealer that resells someone else’s conversion may not have this level of control over parts and engineering
How does Autogroup International support right hand drive American pickups across Australia and globally?
Support is built into our business model. Autogroup International backs its vehicles with:
- An Australia wide list of approved repairers, including our Melbourne service centre.
- A growing worldwide network of approved workshops in key markets.
- Global parts warehouses in Australia, Sri Lanka and Canada, aligned with our Conformity of Production system.
- A dedicated Customer Service team whose full time job is to support Autogroup International clients, coordinate repairs, manage warranty claims and keep vehicles on the road.
This is very different to relying on a single dealer workshop that may have limited experience with heavy duty American pickups.
How does Autogroup International’s engineering and quality control compare to dealer supplied conversions?
Autogroup International treats each right hand drive American pickup as a mirror image engineering project, not a simple steering swap. We:
- Strip the left hand drive interior and use CAD to design near mirror image right hand drive layouts.
- Design and manufacture new dashboards, consoles and trims in house.
- Re engineer steering, pedal and mounting systems to meet strict safety and compliance requirements.
- Validate safety systems, including airbags and electronics, for right hand drive use.
- Apply a 1,626 point quality control process to every vehicle.
Dealer supplied conversions may vary significantly in depth of engineering and documentation, which is why asking “who actually engineered and manufactured this conversion?” is so important.
Why does buying direct from Autogroup International offer better long term peace of mind than buying through a dealer?
Buying direct from Autogroup International aligns price, engineering and responsibility under one name. You avoid paying an extra dealer margin on the same conversion, you get a multi layer warranty and roadside package that many others omit, and you are backed by a 250 person, 100 percent family owned global business that has been converting American pickups since the early 1990s. When you need parts, technical support or warranty assistance, you deal with the actual manufacturer of the right hand drive conversion, not a dealer that may change strategy, ownership or product focus. For a high value right hand drive American pickup in Australia, that alignment is what real peace of mind looks like.
