Conversion

Converting an American SUV, Pickup Truck or Muscle Car from left-hand drive to right-hand drive requires a considerable amount of automotive engineering, design, and manufacturing expertise. It is advisable to entrust this task to a reputable, well-established organization with extensive experience and a large workforce. Autogroup International, with over 30 years of experience, is the world's leading provider of such services. It is essential to exercise caution when dealing with smaller or start-up businesses or those that do not specialize in conversions. To clarify this point, we like to use the following analogy: "Would you prefer a surgeon who has performed thousands of life-saving surgeries, or a new doctor who is still learning and lacks the knowledge, experience, instincts, and wisdom necessary to do the job?" Autogroup International offers a comprehensive "turn-key" solution that includes sourcing the exact vehicle you want (make, model, color, trim, factory options, and market options) in North America, managing all logistics and international sea freight to our government-approved, state-of-the-art conversion facility in Sri Lanka, the left-hand drive to right-hand drive conversion process, homologation, ADR Compliance, and legal export to your destination country, including customs clearance.

Quick Facts to validate:

• How long has the company been converting vehicles?
• How many vehicles has the conversion company actually converted?
• Are the vehicles ADR Compliant and Homologated?
• Do you have ISO 9001:2015 Quality Assurance and for how many years?
• How many engineers does the company have?
• Who owns the business?

• Always trust proven experience over marketing messaging, confirm how long the company has been converting vehicles and how many they have actually done.
• Safety is paramount (not speed of conversion, cost or some marketing spin) and it is validated by experience, size of team, number of vehicles converted and the level of compliance.
• Converting a vehicle to right hand drive requires massive engineering experience as it is just like open heart surgery - you simply need a large team of experienced engineering experts to safely and legally convert vehicles.
• Do you research and don’t just listen to marketing hype! Most of us can tell when we are being sold to and when the little ‘untruths’ are actually hiding the reality
• Visit the facility personally or worst case do your research on YouTube and video call the CEO and ask for a real-time video tour!
• There is a very big difference between real ADR Compliance & Homologation, and trying to meet the standards. Proof is from government audits and demonstrable success in legally importing vehicles into countries for decades.
• Check their social media feeds - how many actual vehicles can you see that have been converted, how many real followers do they have and what is the engagement. Again watch out for marketing hype and look for reality.
• Feel confident that the company can deliver the vehicle with quality and safety that meets or exceeds the destination requirements.

We have been the trusted world leader in left hand to right hand drive conversion of American SUVs, Pickup Trucks, and Muscle cars for over 30 years. In this time we have converted thousands of vehicles to the highest possible standards using the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Assurance framework.

• Make sure to import the vehicle that complies to your country standards such as ADR compliance into Australia or is correctly homologated for the UK.
• Confirm your import duty levels, other local taxes (VAT/GST/Luxury Car Tax) plus registration processes and insurance cost for your vehicle.
• Confirm if the conversion company provides the appropriate certifications, documentation, vehicle title and other formal paperwork required for customs clearance
• Ensure the conversion company has actually imported a vehicle into your country before (don’t be the first!)
• Confirm the vehicle is not stolen or that it has not been in an accident (salvage title)
• Check if you need a special import approval.
• Work with a local freight forwarder or Autogroup's logistics team to check for any issues you may not have thought about.

There are several essential factors that one should consider before choosing a company to convert their vehicle. These include the company's level of professionalism, their experience in converting vehicles, their long-term success, their engineering capabilities, and the quality and compliance systems they have in place. Additionally, the company's scale is also a crucial aspect, as converting vehicles can be challenging work. Thankfully, Autogroup International boasts a team of 175 highly skilled professionals who can get the job done right.

• Does the supplier you are talking to have government approvals to convert and import the vehicle I am looking to buy?
• Engineering capability with depth of knowledge and experience. And are the ‘engineers’ actually university qualified?
• Does the supplier have a systematic quality control and assurance system? Ask to see it - don’t just take their word for it!
• Ask to see their ISO 9001:2015 Audit Results - not just the certificate
• Proof that their quality of their vehicles is good enough to import into the hard countries such as Australia
• Are all systems converted to metric (KPH rather than MPH, etc)
• Look at the details such as the fitment and gaps between panels, the quality of the upholstery, the materials the dashboard is made from?
• Confirm what steering system is used? Is it as good as the OEM design

Our industry comprises of both long-term success stories, such as Autogroup International, with a genuine heritage and experience, as well as "fly-by-night" dodgy operators. Over the course of three decades, we have witnessed many companies come and go. It's important to ignore the marketing hype and make informed decisions based on a company's actual track record.

• Ask for images inside and out of previous vehicles and make sure they have proof they actually did that vehicle – It is very easy to take pictures from the web (in fact a lot of Autogroup images often get used) to pass off as their work.
• Ask for copies of engineering drawings, conformity of production manuals and government approvals - again some simply don’t have their conversion documented
• Ask for all the international government approvals, regulatory compliance they hold across their vehicle range, results from ISO 9001:2015 Quality Audits to validate marketing claims
• Are they ISO approved, independently audited, and for how long? – this ensures they consistently work to a high standard.
• Can they prove many years of actual conversion experience with the capacity and workforce to complete a conversion

We always source from North America - they are American vehicles after all. Sourcing a vehicle from North America does add a few weeks in shipping but it ensure you get the exact vehicle you want!

• Ensure the vehicle is a genuine US spec and not the lower GCC or Euro spec versions.
• North American sourced vehicles give the option of either a petrol or diesel engines.
• There is a complete choice of exterior colour and interior trim levels.
• You can source a vehicle with whatever factory options you desire.
• We can work with you to get any after-market accessory fitted on your vehicle.

It is important to keep in mind that when a vehicle is converted, the original equipment manufacturer's warranty is no longer valid. Therefore, it is crucial to trust the vehicle converter's experience and reputation to ensure that they can offer a comprehensive warranty for the converted vehicle. It is also important to verify that the converter has the necessary spare parts, support team, and infrastructure to provide ongoing support in the future and will remain in business for years to come.