A chat with Performax International sales manager Kevin Thoroughgood about what goes into switching sides.
Buying a US sourced vehicle is a growing trend in Australia, but just how hard is it to convert a vehicle from left to right hand drive?
Performax International are the Australian leaders in RHD conversions, Behind the Wheel caught up with Performax sales manager Kevin Thoroughgood to look at some of the challenges his team face when deciding to make a new model available…
How do you determine which models to bring into Australia?
Generally speaking we’ve good a pretty good feel for what the Australian public will buy, some people though do ask for some odd-ball things at times, but we need to look at every model as a business case and determine whether or not there’s a big enough market for each particular model. We get a pretty good good feel after being in the business for so long what people will really buy, that dictates most of what we do.
Do you base your decisions on what models to import and convert based on prospective customer inquiries?
We do, but its still a pretty big gamble. In saying that we’ve been doing it for a long time and do have a pretty good feel for what will work and what won’t in Australia. If we don’t think it will work here we won’t touch it.
When you decide on a model to import and convert, what’s the process and do you get any assistance from the vehicle manufacturers?
Unfortunately we get nothing from the manufacturers, no assistance and no help whatsoever. So we do have to start everything from scratch, if its a new model we have to apply to the government to get the vehicle on the federal governments Enthusiast Vehicle Scheme (SEVS), once its on there we can bring in a test vehicle and we then develop it from there. We then wait for the government to inspect the vehicle and approve all the workmanship we have done. So it can be a long process sometimes, commonly as long as a year or two before we get a new model onto the market.
Have you ever come across any models that, once you start looking at how to convert them to right hand drive, are much more difficult than you anticipated?
Yes, the Toyota Tundra provided some challenges. The electric steering in the Mustang’s, when they first came out was a nightmare. But its a matter of just spending the time and going over it and over it until you get it right and then when we are happy with it then we release it to the public. Its no different to the manufacturers though, except they have three to five years to develop something and we are usually trying to do it in six to twelve months.
A lot of the focus when we talk right-hand drive conversions is on the under-body, steering, suspension etc. but how challenging can the interior conversions be?
Interior and electronics are probably the hardest things to get through. The steering, so long as its mechanical and not electrical, is not so bad. Many people also don’t realize that today’s cars all have computers and the car knows where the driver should sit and where the passenger should sit, and you’ve got to really teach the car that its around the other way round now for Australia.
The Chevy Silverado has been a great success for Performax, how long until the new model arrives in Australia?
The Americans won’t see the heavy-duty diesel version of the new Silverado until the end of 2013, then we have to buy one, get it out here and start developing it, so we are probably looking at least mid-2014 before we will have it ready to go. There’s a fair bit of work involved with the new model from what we’ve seen in pictures, so it’s a ground-up redesign for us again with a full new dashboard and many other components to re-do.
How about the Tundra, its also been a great success for Performax, I bet you’re looking forward to getting your hands on the new model?
We are, it actually looks pretty exciting as well. Though in saying that we probably won’t have it available until 2014, that’s despite the new model really only being a face-lift of the previous model with a new dashboard etc.
Were you surprised at how popular the Tundra has been?
We have found though that many people have been drawn to it because its not as big as the Chevy or Ford pick-ups. Many people refer to it as a “Hilux on steroids”, its a slightly bigger vehicle than a LandCruiser but its still small enough to be easy enough to drive around city areas.
How about the face-lifted Camaro, can you see any major issues that will affect getting the new one into Australia?
No, we shouldn’t be too bad with the Camaro, from what we can tell its really only a bit of a redesign of the lighting systems which, is similar to the Mustang which we are working on now, the steering will be electric but that’s the same as the ZL1 Camaro, which we have already developed.
And finally Kevin the new Corvette, how long until we get it here and what do you think of the new look?
I think it looks fresh and modern, from a conversion point of view its going to take a lot of work. It’s probably one of the most complex looking interiors we will have to do, but its still a very smart looking car and that new interior should help the Corvette compete with the European sports car models. In saying that we are looking at around Christmas before we get one over here in left-hand drive as a prototype. From there it will be at least a twelve month process to get it on the market here.
Visit the Performax website for more info.