“We provide a full warranty on every one of our vehicles in every country on the planet” says Rob Hill, CEO of Autogroup International

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re likely aware that a GMC Hummer EV has made it to our shores. One was recently spotted in Hyderabad, giving regular SUVs an inferiority complex, while another left sports cars in its wake during the Launch Control event at the Buddh International Circuit. Crucially, these aren’t temporary Carnet imports on Dubai plates but proper right-hand-drive conversions here to stay. We sat down with Rob Hill, the man behind these mammoth machines and numerous other American RHD conversions, to learn more about his company, Autogroup International.

On the origins of Autogroup International

“Auto Group International has been around for 31 years. Started by my dad, Peter. It's always been 100 per cent family owned. Dad started it in Australia in 1992. He's always been an American car fan; he wanted a pickup truck. In Australia, it wasn't possible, so he flew to America, bought a GMC pickup truck, sea freighted it back, and worked out how to do it. Dad's quite entrepreneurial. So, the one truck that he built for himself generated a few inquiries. He took an order for another one and another one and then went back to America and brought those back. And then that just evolved to ultimately where we are today.”

Autogroup International's facility in Sri Lanka

On setting up shop in Sri Lanka

“The business had been running in Australia for 10 years and it had got to a size where we needed to expand. And then he took what most people probably thought was the crazy decision to set up our manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka. Most Australians wouldn't have known where Sri Lanka was on the map. And dad was the pioneer. So, we were set up as what they call a board of investment company. We are regulated by the Sri Lankan government and effectively, we're a free port.”

On what Autogroup International does

“Our business is obviously importing the left-hand drive vehicles, converting them, and then exporting them around the world. But we don't do the simple things like a knockdown vehicle. We remanufacture all of our components ourselves. So, in a typical vehicle, that could be anywhere between 200 to 400 components that need to be analysed, reverse engineered, and remanufactured. Whether that's in plastic, fibreglass, metal, etc. We manufacture all of our components, do our conversions, do all of the compliance work, and then we export the vehicles.”

On Autogroup International’s presence worldwide

“We do a lot of vehicles into Indonesia, Malaysia, the UK, and Africa as a whole. As a business, we've got vehicles in 41 countries, some of them lots, others just random ones. I think we've got six vehicles in Fiji and some of the Caribbean islands. We've got our major markets, but then sure enough, most months I'll have a cool conversation with a random person and away we go.”

The Ford F350 is popular in Australia for its towing capacity

On what sets them apart from other conversion companies

“There's probably now five or six conversion companies on the planet – there used to be 10 or 15. It's a reality of having scale. It's an element of having the intellectual property, the 30 years of experience of converting 5,000 cars, and the experience. It's the learnt lessons that ensure that you don't cut corners. Because for us, it's the long-term element that it is not about one car. We provide a full warranty on every one of our vehicles in every country on the planet. That takes financial backing, but it also takes incredible confidence in the design and engineering and the manufacturing of what we do. We don't go and get a dashboard made in China. Everything is reverse engineered, designed, and manufactured by my team in-house, which is why we've got 200-plus people in Sri Lanka. And those people are the difference.”

Autogroup International's right-hand drive Lincoln Navigator

On the vehicles they convert to right-hand drive

“Australia remains our biggest pickup truck market. We've got quite a big operation there in Melbourne. Eighty per cent of our vehicles into Australia are big pickup trucks – the GMC Sierra, the Ford F250, and the Ford F350. People are buying them because they want to tow big things. Then through the years, as our reputation grew, (we started doing) more and more muscle cars. It's probably fair to say that any of the right-hand drive Dodge Challengers or Chevrolet Camaros that are in India, we did them. Today in the factory, there are three or four Challengers – all top specs: Hellcat, Redeye, and Demon 170 – and they are becoming collector's vehicles. They're not a car that you buy if you have a driver and you want to sit in the back seat. They are just designed to be noisy and loud and go very quickly. The other side of it is the SUV: the Yukon Denali, Lincoln Navigator, obviously the GMC Hummer EV, and Ford Bronco, which again cater to people who want something different. Maybe they've watched too many American spy movies, but it's in the American zeitgeist, the big black American SUV. There's just a thing that some people like, and other people don't. Even if they don't, on a spec sheet, match up to the Europeans, there is a very distinct appeal.”

On the research and development process for a new model

“We're pretty good at doing new models. It costs us well over a quarter million US dollars on the first vehicle to do our research and development, all of the die making, pattern making, and, importantly, all of our compliance work. So we're very careful and conscious about what vehicles we choose to convert, making sure we can do it, making sure that there is a market for them, and making sure it's safe. And I'll give you a good example. So the Cadillac Escalade, we do not convert to right-hand drive – we did up until 2022. But then Cadillac brought out their digital displays, which are asymmetrically shaped. So we can't take the digital instrument cluster – which has the ECM in it, controls all of the safety – and move it to the right-hand side. It's just shaped incorrectly. So having bought a vehicle, gone through the vehicle, we made the call that it would be unsafe because the only way to get the display to work would be to get a third-party manufacturer to create it. And that then compromised vehicle safety, and it meant the vehicle wouldn't get updated from Cadillac. So it was one of those vehicles that our expertise said, 'Don't do it.' We're going from the transition from the 2024 Yukon Denali to the 2025 Yukon Denali. Now it's a mid-cycle vehicle, so it's not a platform refresh, but we still treat that as a whole brand new R&D compliance project. Over the last 12 or 18 months, we were the world's first to do the Hummer EVs, the Ford F-150 Lightning, and the Dodge Durango, and we're working on a couple more SUV platforms at the moment. We now actively convert about 52 different vehicles and models.”

The interior of the Hummer EV post conversion to right-hand drive

On the conversion process of EV vs. ICE vehicles

“There is definitely time saving because rather than being ICE powered, it's EV. But they are often more advanced when it comes to electronics. If I think back to our workforce, 15 years ago, we had mechanical engineers, and then in the last 5 years, it was moving into hiring electrical engineers because vehicles are going more and more digital. Now we are actually hiring our first computing engineers. So there is sort of a time saving on the mechanical side with the EV, but there is more work on the electrical side. We also go to the level of detail that you don't need to do, but sometimes it's showing off. With the Hummer, the vehicle has the volume button on the left-hand side of the screen. We move that volume control to the right-hand side of the screen because now we're on this side of the car. Maybe it's us showing off our prowess, but that is electrical engineering at its best. That is the use of 3D printing technology, because it's got a little plastic shroud that clips on. But ultimately, it's kind of what you expect.”

Parts like the gear selector are completely remanufactured by Autogroup International

On how the interiors are converted

“The steps are relatively straightforward, but in fact it's vastly complex. So, let's talk about the gear lever. We take the original left-hand drive piece and 3D scan it. We then use tools to reverse engineer it. (Using) Siemens NX and a few other crazy expensive pieces of software, they will do a reverse-engineered model. We then print them off with 3D-printed plastic, and then that enables us to be able to test fitment. We then go into production. Within our facility we have the ability to do reaction injection moulding. That will often be a few different iterations. We will then create a silicon moulding. But you end up with your silicone mould. And then we use reaction injection moulding to push the liquid plastic into it, which then hardens, and that gives us a perfect gear lever. That technology is exactly the same as Brabus. We do it all in-house. And they will either be an upholstery finish or a paint finish, typically. So we've got a full paint shop and a full upholstery team. Let's talk about a dashboard; for us, it's 40-something separate pieces. So air vents are a good example; we will just reuse the original OEM component. Other components we will then manufacture. Within the dashboard there is effectively a metal bar, which we take, 3D scan it, reverse engineer it, and then remanufacture that metal bar. A lot of the top plates that you would see on a dashboard don't do anything; they just cover up everything. But part of the analysis of our design is then about what UV rating the plastic needs to be because it's going to be in direct sunlight and impacted by heat versus other elements that a lot of them you won't see. It's all about structural integrity, so we'll build it in a plastic with a different chemical composition so we get the strength, or we do it in fiberglass. But more important is that twelve months or five years down the track, the dashboard is still perfect.”

On the mechanical side of the conversion

“At the time of our compliance and our design, we will come up with what we need to do. But it goes all the way down to firewall modification; everything comes out: front seats, front fender, bonnet, etc., all the way down to the firewall. It's then that we start to do the firewall modifications and steering column path adjustments. Whether it's a steering box or whether angle boxes, that is very dependent upon the vehicle and usage. We design, engineer, and test everything. Part of our compliance is that every vehicle has to be tested for turning circle, braking distance, those sorts of things, pre-conversion and post-conversion. It comes down to absolute safety – you cut corners, then cars crash. We've converted 5,000 vehicles, and none of our vehicles have ever had an issue, a car crash, or an issue based on the steering work that we do.”

On the homologation process

“We do all of that (homologation) and that's the key thing. Being an Australian business, the vehicles are Australian Design Rules (ADR) compliant. Australia is the most difficult country to get vehicles in from a compliance perspective. We are the only conversion company that is allowed to import vehicles into Australia. But that takes a team, both in Melbourne and Sri Lanka – Twenty-odd people in our compliance group, all engineers. It's a serious commitment. It's none of this fake or dodgy paperwork. That compliance enables us to legally import our vehicles into India – because it's recognised – but also into South Africa, the UK, Indonesia, and lots of other countries around the world. Sometimes it's frustrating because you just imagine the paperwork, the conformity of production processes, all of the research, and all of the testing. It's testing down to the obvious elements: steering, braking, and turning circles, but down to lights – a left-hand drive vehicle has a different pitch and angle of lights to a right-hand drive vehicle – down to the windscreen wiper blades, indicators, and seat belt tensioning, and airbags; it is remarkably complex. But that enables us to be able to provide our customers with all of the compliance documents that they need. To give you an idea, a vehicle that we import into Australia is no longer technically from an Australian perspective a GMC Hummer EV – it's an Autogroup Hummer EV. We are recognised as a manufacturer.”

The Hummer EV is proving to be very popular

On the lead time for a conversion from start to finish

“All of our vehicles come from the USA or Canada, and we've got a full-time team in both countries. We always buy from the East Coast because it's quicker – so, New York or Toronto, Montreal to Sri Lanka. We allow about 55 days for the vehicles to come via sea freight to Sri Lanka. From our freight forwarding facility in both the US and Canada, boxed up into a shipping container and then straight into Colombo Port. It takes a couple of days to get to our facility just to go through the customs process, and they go into our facility, and then vehicles take anywhere between three to six weeks to do the left-hand drive to right-hand drive conversion, get put back into a container, and then exported to 40 countries around the world. (For India) 100 days is a safe timeline, and we're good at under-promising and over-delivering. The other thing is we air freight vehicles, so it adds a little bit of money. Flown from the US to Sri Lanka, it adds around ₹21 lakh to the cost of the vehicle, but it also saves seven weeks of sea freight time.”

The Autogroup International CEO - a right-hand drive GMC Yukon Denali with captains chairs in the rear

On Autogroup Internationals specialised builds

“A lot of our customers want the big, black, powerful SUV, but they have a protection element where they want it to be armoured, B6 or B7. And we're doing more and more work with our custom interiors – we call them our CEO project cars. We take a brand new GMC Yukon Denali. We convert it from left- to right-hand drive. But we actually then take the middle seat and the rear seats out of the vehicle. We put a six-inch roof lift into the roof to give us more headspace, put a partition between the two driver seats in the rear cabin with a sliding TV, kind of like a limousine, with two big captain's chairs in the vehicle. There are a lot of people who quite clearly have a driver, but they want a cocoon where they can work.”

On future plans in India

“India is a big part of our future. There is a market here. I expect the government regulators to be tough on us, but we do the right thing. I think there's an opportunity for us to manufacture here. And we're different in the sense that we're not building a finished vehicle, pulling it apart, sticking it in a container, bringing it here, and then having it put back together again. If we manufacture here, we will do everything we do in Sri Lanka here. The skill set is here. And I like being in India; I think that's because I love Sri Lanka. I love the culture and the food, and it's an adventure. And part of my guiding principle is that I don't like to be bored – we only get one life. So I wouldn't be surprised that within a sensible timeline our presence here will be different.”

Rob Hill thinks there may be a market for large pickup trucks like the GMC Sierra in India

On demand for RHD American cars in India

“We've done a lot of cars over the years (in India), but not a huge volume. But there is no doubt the first Hummer EV landing here has changed that quite dramatically. And I think that's quite good in the sense that it proved to the market that it can be done properly, legally, etc. I think there are lots of car nuts. I think people are excited about something new, and the Hummer is cool and interesting. I think you'll see a number of our SUVs, the Yukon Denali and the Lincolns in the country; you'll see the odd muscle car, and I think you'll see quite a few pickup trucks. In a lot of ways, India is not a pickup truck market, clearly. But there's a sense that people like things that are a bit different, that stand out. I think part of our job over the coming period of time is to show the Indian market that when we say pickup truck, don't think Toyota Hilux. I'm not being disrespectful, but don't think of your traditional pickup truck; think Cadillac or Lincoln, but with a pickup truck. They're the kind of things, much like the Hummer, that stop traffic. And that's something that a lot of people like.”

On the vehicles Autogroup International doesn't convert

“This week, I must have been asked for 30 things that we don't convert. Things like the Mustang, some of the Toyota vehicles. It's the thing where people discover what we do, and all of a sudden, they’ve got a random thing that they want converted. Ford often brings out a right-hand drive version (of the Mustang). They probably won't bring it to India, being Ford. We don't get involved if there's going to be a right-hand drive version. Why invest?”

If you've seen a right-hand drive Chevrolet Camaro or Dodge Challenger in India, chances are it was converted by Autogroup International

On future muscle car conversions

“In the muscle car world, we're quite looking forward to the new Dodge Charger EV muscle car. That'll be one that will split the world a little bit because it doesn't have the rumble of the big V8 or the whine of the supercharger. But that will be interesting. So, we've got a couple of those on order. The minute we get one, we'll put it on an aeroplane and fly it in (to Sri Lanka).”

On how to order a RHD vehicle from Autogroup International

“A combination of things. We have a bunch of retail partners who are great. We're very selective with who we work with. The reputation of our family and our business is protected at all costs. There are a whole series of customers who just skip all the process and just call me directly – I'm not hard to find. It is as simple as that, quite literally. I mean, as long as they buy one of our vehicles, I don't care whether it's through us or Friday Night Cars or other retailers that will have them – it's one of my cars. When I'm in the country, three or four times a week, I'll have international customers fly in and come and have a tour of the facility. See their car or other cars, and I think people quite like the direct involvement. People do kind of like talking to me, and people have got a thousand questions. And I'm in no rush. Some make a decision in a day; others I've been talking to for the last two or three years, but all of a sudden momentum has changed. Of course, the open invitation is to come and visit us. It's not an expensive flight. It's two to three hours from here to Colombo – hang out and see what we do.”

So far only a couple of Hummer EVs have made it to our shores, but several more are on the way. Prices for the GMC Hummer EV start at ₹3.85 crore (ex-showroom) — significantly more than a Range Rover or Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, and nearly as much as a Lamborghini Urus or Bentley Bentayga. The only electric SUV in this price range is the Lotus Eletre, which is still nearly ₹2 crore cheaper. However, the Hummer EV has the street presence to match its price tag and for several prospective customers, it's a small price to pay to stand out in a sea of luxury SUVs.