Former Australian Motor Industries and Toyota manufacturing plant, Port Melbourne

During the 1920s Eclipse Motors was established for the import and distribution of motor cars into Australia. By the 1952 the company had expanded its Port Melbourne factory into production under the new name, Standard Motor Company Australia Pty Ltd. The aim of building cars in Australia was to address paying high import taxes, provide employment to the local population, and overall aim to establish a locally-based automobile industry. The factory assembled 100 cars daily that were imported in kit form. By 1956 the Port Melbourne plant employed over 1600 employees and operated an extensive Australia-wide sales network. Financial problems during the late 1950s resulted in the company being renamed Australian Motor Industries Ltd, (AMI) assembling cars imported from Britain, Germany, and the United States. In 1962 the company entered into an agreement with Toyota resulting in the first ever Toyota built outside Japan being assembled by AMI in April 1963; a Toyota Tiara. Production of Toyota vehicles quickly expanded to include Corona and Corolla models, with Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan acquiring a controlling interest in AMI in 1968. In 1985 AMI was renamed AMI Toyota Ltd and in 1987 Toyota acquired the entire company. The parent company amalgamated AMI Toyota Ltd with its other Australian operations in 1989. The Port Melbourne plant continued to produce vehicles until 1994 when all production was transferred to the company’s Altona plant. Port Melbourne finally closed in May 2006 with all operations relocated to the Altona plant.

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