Morgan 3 Wheeler rides again

REPORTS of the death of Morgan’s 3 Wheeler have been greatly exaggerated.

Instead, the quirky British vehicle has apparently been saved from Australian market extinction under changes to Australian Design Rules (ADRs) that come into effect in November next year.

According to Morgan, Canberra’s transport department bureaucrats have ridden to the rescue and ticked the appropriate boxes to update the market homologation approval for the V-twin 3 Wheeler to allow sales “into the foreseeable future”.

However, the future of the company’s Classic range hangs in the balance, with similar ADR approval still under review.

As GoAuto reported last week, Morgan has been fighting an expensive ADR battle over cars in its range that don’t necessarily slot into conventional car categories.

Morgan suggested potential 3 Wheeler customers should place orders within the next two months if they wanted delivery in Australia before the ADR boom came down on November 1, 2017.

But, a late submission on the 3 Wheeler – plus some media pressure – has proved effective in getting at least one of the cars across the approval line.

Morgan explains: “We recently issued a media release announcing ‘last orders’ for the Morgan 3 Wheeler due to planned changes to the ADRs.

“In response to this the department of transport in Canberra has reacted promptly to concerns expressed by ourselves, the media and Morgan enthusiasts.

Following an additional submission, and with the assistance of the department in Canberra, we are pleased to confirm that the approval for the Morgan 3 Wheeler has been updated and this unique vehicle will now be available for sale into the foreseeable future.”

For now, the Classic range remains suspended from sale pending a review.

Morgan says it is working with the transport department to achieve an outcome similar to that of the 3 Wheeler.