Australian automotive engineering and manufacturing company Premcar has celebrated its 30th anniversary, marking three decades of local vehicle development, performance engineering and secondary manufacturing.
The Melbourne-based business began life as Tickford on 11 September 1996, initially working with Ford Australia on performance-enhanced Falcon models and right-hand-drive conversions of the Ford Mustang. Today, Premcar says its work has contributed to more than 200,000 new vehicles and more than 55,000 performance engines.
“Today marks 30 years of Australian know-how delivering world-class cars,” Premcar CEO Bernie Quinn said.
“Since 1996, this Australian operation has been the go-to for carmakers looking to create exciting new cars for passionate customers.
“After 30 years, Premcar is busier than ever – and we have big future plans.”
From Tickford to Premcar
The company’s history tracks some significant chapters in Australian performance vehicle development.
After operating as Tickford, the business became Prodrive Automotive Technologies following Prodrive’s acquisition of Tickford overseas. It subsequently established Ford Performance Vehicles in partnership with Ford Australia, producing a series of locally developed performance models.
A management buyout in 2012 created Premcar, with owners Bernie Quinn and Jim Jovanovski expanding the company’s engineering and vehicle enhancement work beyond its Ford heritage.
Since then, Premcar has worked with manufacturers from Japan, the United States, China and Europe on vehicle engineering and development programs.
For Australian fleets, that capability is particularly relevant as manufacturers look for ways to tailor global vehicle platforms to more specialised local applications.
Warrior puts Premcar back in the spotlight
One of Premcar’s most visible contemporary programs has been its work with Nissan.
The relationship began in 2018 with development of the Navara Warrior program, followed by the N-Trek Warrior in 2019, Navara PRO-4X Warrior in 2021, Navara SL Warrior in 2022 and Patrol Warrior in 2023. Premcar produced its 10,000th Warrior vehicle in 2024.
Those projects have helped establish a modern version of the secondary manufacturing model in Australia — taking an existing OEM vehicle and carrying out additional local engineering, development and production to create a distinct derivative.
That approach has now expanded beyond Nissan. In 2026, Premcar launched the Mitsubishi Triton Raider, which joins the Warrior range among the company’s publicly visible OEM programs.
Engineering extends beyond performance cars
While Premcar is closely associated with performance vehicles, its work has broadened considerably over the past three decades.
Its milestones include a helicopter development program for a Japanese OEM in 2015, development of an electric vehicle platform for a Chinese manufacturer in 2020 and expansion of its Australian engineering and manufacturing operations with a second Epping facility in 2023.
The company now describes its activities as spanning automotive, defence and aerospace, including complete vehicle engineering, niche-model manufacturing, full-scale vehicle development and EV conversion programs.
That broader capability also illustrates how Australian automotive engineering has evolved since the end of large-scale local passenger vehicle manufacturing. Rather than producing complete high-volume vehicles, businesses such as Premcar are increasingly applying local engineering and manufacturing expertise to specialised programs for global manufacturers.
Premcar says its next phase of development is already underway.
“Much more is planned and already underway,” Quinn said.
For the fleet market, Premcar’s 30-year milestone is a reminder that Australian vehicle engineering did not disappear with local mass manufacturing. It has shifted towards specialised vehicles, secondary manufacturing and locally developed solutions — areas that can become increasingly important as fleets demand vehicles better suited to Australian operating conditions and specific applications.
