Classic Morgan production for Australia currently suspended.

Classic Morgan production for Australia currently suspended.

[The end of M3W imports into Australia was previously reported.  This indicates trad bodied Morgans have been stopped as well.  It appears that the more modern Aero style chassis is acceptable.  We’ll see how this plays out.  Mark] 

These same changes in the Australia Design Rules (ADRs) became effective a year earlier. That is to say from 1 November 2016 – for the 4 wheel vehicles.  As a result we were forced to stop taking orders for the Classic Morgans – 4/4, Plus 4 and Roadster – since early 2016. (The Plus 8 is not affected by these changes.)

After some extended discussions the Morgan Motor Company in the UK has committed to undertaking further tests on the Classic models for Australia, and, if accepted by Canberra, the Classic models will hopefully be available again for sale in limited volumes in 2017.

The outcome of the test and submission to Canberra will hopefully be known by end December 2016 or early in 2017. Again as on the 3 Wheeler, the Classics will not be eligible for direct importation even via the revised legislation under consideration in Canberra, as UK specification vehicles do not meet Australian safety and emission standards. All our vehicles are based on European Type Approved vehicles, which are subjected to higher Approval Standards than in the UK, with ADR requirements added on top.

New Aero 8 approved for Australia
Some silver lining to the dark ADR clouds is that the stylish new Aero 8 has now been approved by Canberra for sale in Australia. The first vehicle for Australia will be going into production shortly with arrival in early 2017.