Why Australia is the leader of 4x4 off-road accessories for models like the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Triton | Opinion

Australia has led the way for the global 4WD aftermarket industry for many years.

We always have.

Companies such as ARB, Ironman 4X4, and TJM set the gold standard for 4WD aftermarket equipment and fitment long ago, and a stack of other newer Aussie aftermarket mobs are gaining recognition and bush-cred on the world stage as well.

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Our companies are world-renowned and well-respected for their innovation, exhaustive testing and dynamic approach to imagining, designing, developing and manufacturing aftermarket products for a 4WDing community who demand the utmost from all of their gear as a matter of necessity.

So, what makes Australian aftermarket companies so great?

Companies such as TJM set the gold standard for 4WD aftermarket equipment and fitment long ago.

Innovation

Every year – hell, every season – Aussie aftermarket firms release a stack of new products to match with new-generation vehicles.

Think driving lights, bullbars, snorkels, under-vehicle protection, rock sliders, air lockers, long-range fuel tanks, suspension upgrades, storage platforms, and the list goes on and on. If you can think of it, chances are it’s already been made or is in the process of being developed.

In fact, as soon as a new vehicle is announced Australian 4WD aftermarket companies launch into action, preparing for that vehicle’s arrival here.

Case in point: Toyota’s LandCruiser 300 Series. ARB’s engineering team organised for a 300 Series ’Cruiser to be scanned in Dubai, long before it was due to officially arrive on Australia’s shores, in order to kick-start the ARB’s development of aftermarket accessories for it. With that head-start, ARB’s engineers were able to swiftly start work on designing accessories aimed at complementing the 300’s aesthetics, without impacting its real-world practicality or safety features.

Australia’s aftermarket innovators are lightning quick to act when it comes to the development of accessories for upcoming off-road vehicles.

They’re also constantly improving. Materials used are increasingly lighter and stronger, designs are becoming smarter and safer every time, and Australia’s aftermarket industry decision-makers actually listen to the people who matter most - 4WD enthusiasts and off-road tourers who use the vehicles, equipment, mods and technology for the intended purposes.

Every year, Aussie aftermarket firms release a stack of new products to match with new-generation vehicles.

Testing

Australia has some of the harshest driving conditions and most bone-rattling road/track surfaces in the world, from chopped-up bitumen and loose-gravelled back roads peppered with potholes, through to spirit-sapping soft beach sand, momentum-draining desert sand, and spine-jarring corrugations.

We have every road or track surface you can imagine in this country – and those irregular surfaces and extreme conditions inflict an incredible amount of punishment on vehicles, drivetrains and components.

And that’s why vehicle manufacturers choose to test their vehicles here. If a vehicle and its OE components are tough enough to survive Australia’s brutally tough environment, then they’ll no doubt be tough enough to thrive anywhere else in the world.

The same goes for aftermarket equipment. It has to be engineered to withstand the extreme torture that it will likely face every day of its vehicular ‘life’ and the only way aftermarket manufacturers can be sure that’s the case is if their equipment undergoes prolonged and extensive testing here in Australia.

Many vehicle manufacturers choose to test their vehicles in Australia due to the tough environment here.

Legal, sensible and safe

Australian companies imagine, develop and manufacture a standard of aftermarket products that other countries just can’t match.

But while Aussie aftermarket firms constantly push the boundaries, their innovation always falls within the parameters of the Australian Design Rules (ADR) – “our national standards for road vehicle safety, anti-theft and emissions” – so everything is legal, sensible and safe. So, any modifications undertaken on, or gear fitted to, a vehicle has to be ADR-compliant.

Let’s take a bullbar, as an example. Animal strike (inadvertently colliding with an animal while driving a vehicle) in this country is a very serious problem. If your vehicle hits a stray cow or kangaroo at speed on a highway, then the results can be devastating, if not deadly.

Years ago, when I started work as a journalist on a regional newspaper, we covered several animal-strike incidents.

Bullbars, in those days, were more like repurposed pool gates rather than the high-tech, strong and lightweight examples of frontal protection that they are nowadays. And often vehicles didn’t have a bullbar anyway.

Besides, no matter how cutting-edge the technology used in product development is, or how light and strong the materials are, or how great it looks, if the bullbar isn’t legal, sensible or safe – adhering to ADR standards while maintaining the integrity and efficacy of the vehicle’s onboard driver-assist tech and safety equipment – then it doesn’t belong on a vehicle being driven on Australian roads.

Aussie aftermarket companies are masters of innovation, but they are also experts at ensuring their products are legal, sensible and safe.

Australian companies imagine, develop and manufacture a standard of aftermarket products that other countries just can’t match.

What I reckon

Australia’s 4WD aftermarket sector is one of the most respected in the world for a variety of great reasons.

They’re consistently producing top-quality off-roading equipment, fitment, mods and technology.

They’re constantly improving their practices and products by using smarter and safer designs, lighter, stronger materials, and better technology.

They live the off-roading life and really listen to enthusiasts, so they know what they want.

It’s no wonder the global market looks to Australia for guidance and inspiration in terms of off-roading principles, philosophy and products.