Construction of Walkinshaw Automotive Group's new Melbourne facility is complete, with Ram, Chevrolet, Toyota and GMC conversions expected to consolidate to one location.
Walkinshaw Automotive Group – contracted by major car makers to convert full-size American utes and SUVs from left- to right-hand drive for Australian roads – has completed construction of its new "super site" in Melbourne's south-east.
The first 'remanufactured' vehicles are set to roll off the assembly line at the new facility in Dandenong South by the end of the year, including Australia's best-selling US pick-up, the Ram 1500.
The group, founded in 1987 by racing driver Tom Walkinshaw, is moving to the new location from its existing headquarters in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton South, consolidating all its current operations under one roof.
Currently, the Ram and Toyota models – along with the D-Max Blade – are modified in Clayton South, while the Chevrolet Silverado, Silverado HD and GMC Yukon are converted at a separate facility in Dandenong South.
In an Instagram post, director Ryan Walkinshaw said the 100,000 square metre facility will "house up to 1500 employees" and is "capable of manufacturing 20,000+ vehicles a year for Australia".
"Our new Walkinshaw Automotive Group super site is finally finished and we have begun slowly moving in," Walkinshaw said.
"It’s one of the top 5 largest manufacturing facilities in all of Australia, home to the most advanced engineering centre in the country, 6+ productions lines and our Supercars Championship racing team, Walkinshaw Andretti United
"[We're] proud to be investing and committing our business to a long future here in Melbourne."
Ram Trucks Australia, a joint-venture between Walkinshaw Automotive Group and importer Ateco Automotive, said the move for Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 production "secures the jobs of more than 270 factory workers, warehouse staff, quality inspectors and engineers".
"After eight years at our current remanufacturing facility in Clayton, Ram Trucks Australia is moving to a new state-of-the-art facility," general manager Jeff Barber said.
"We believe this move will improve efficiencies and help secure the jobs of 200 factory workers and approximately 50 engineering staff who remanufacture Ram Trucks Australia vehicles to factory quality and safety standards.
"As the first US pick-up brand to remanufacture vehicles here in the modern era, we are proud of the part we have played in keeping local vehicle manufacturing and engineering skills alive in Australia in the wake of the closure of the Holden, Ford and Toyota factories in 2016 and 2017.
"By our estimates, the US pick-up sector as a whole now employs approximately 3000 workers if you include all production and engineering staff, plus those in the supplier base."
Ram Trucks Australia said there will be no interruption to customer deliveries, with the new facility expected to be fully operational by the end of the year.
Year-to-date, 6444 vehicles in the US pick-up segment have been reported as sold – a 16 per cent decline from 2024 – with the Ram, Chevrolet and Toyota models accounting for 91.5 per cent of this volume.
The Ram 1500 is the best-selling model with 2112 registrations, followed by the Chevrolet Silverado (1636), Chevrolet Silverado HD (1118), Toyota Tundra (618), Ford F-150 (549), Ram 2500 (401) and Ram 3500 (10).
Since 2015, more than 35,000 Ram vehicles have been remanufactured from left- to right-hand drive for Australian roads.
The Walkinshaw Andretti United race team, which will be based at the new facility, will field the Toyota GR Supra in the Supercars Championship from 2026, from its roots as the factory-backed Holden Racing Team to its switch to the Ford Mustang from the 2023 season.
Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
