Southerly Motors Australia: car dealership website design for Australian automotive retail

Southerly Motors Australia adapts our dealership platform for 10 stores across five states and territories. The architecture retains the 18 core templates and AI chat, but speaks Australian motoring fluently: drive-away pricing with GST, novated leases, dual-cab utes, rego valuations, PPSR checks, ADF offers, and a Pty Ltd footer with an Acknowledgement of Country.

Project facts

• Client: Southerly Motors Automotive Group Pty Ltd (fictional)
• Sector: Automotive retail
• Markets: 10 stores across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the ACT
• Services: Market localisation · Copywriting · Brand adaptation · Automotive dealership website design · Accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA) · SEO foundations
• Templates: 26 page templates shared with every Southerly Motors edition
• Stack: Next.js (static export), React and Tailwind CSS; one region pack (copy, data, alt text) and one theme per market

The brief

Australian motoring terms, drive-away pricing and local finance

Australian car buyers navigate a distinct regulatory and commercial landscape. The build replaces US sales tax and lease terms with drive-away pricing including GST, comparison rates p.a. and novated lease salary packaging. Copy replaces trucks with utes, plates with rego, mileage with odometer in kilometres, and Carfax with PPSR checks.

Designing for Australia

What actually changed between the US and this edition

• Vehicle categories - US edition: Trucks and pickups · Australia: Utes and dual-cab utes
• Pricing model - US edition: MSRP with dealer fees and local sales tax · Australia: RRP and drive-away pricing inclusive of GST and on-road costs
• Finance options - US edition: US car loans and standard retail leases · Australia: Consumer finance with comparison rates p.a. and novated leasing
• Vehicle provenance - US edition: Carfax and clean title notices · Australia: PPSR clear status and roadworthy inspection certificates
• Trade-in flow - US edition: License plate or VIN with mileage in miles · Australia: State rego lookup, 17-character VIN and odometer in km
• Fuel and efficiency - US edition: MPG, gas, Level 2 EV charging · Australia: L/100 km, petrol, 7 kW home wallbox and CCS2 fast charging
• Special programs - US edition: US military and college grad discounts · Australia: ADF members, veterans, SES/RFS emergency services and uni grad bonuses
• Corporate entity - US edition: Delaware LLC · Australia: Pty Ltd, sample ABN and Acknowledgement of Country

Brand adaptation

The same Southerly Motors, with a local accent

The interface pairs DM Sans Variable with a sun-bleached coastal aesthetic. A coastal blue serves as the primary action colour, balanced by a warm ochre accent for ratings and key highlights. Surfaces use warm sand and sun-bleached off-white tones, with high-contrast eucalyptus dark green for key cards and footers.

Homepage, inventory and finance

The homepage opens with Australia's easier way to buy a car alongside a vehicle search filtered for hybrid SUVs, dual-cab utes and cars under $40,000. Shoppers can run an instant rego-based trade-in valuation valid for 7 days or 800 km, compare novated lease payments, locate one of 10 stores by suburb or postcode, or reserve online with free home delivery within 80 km.

Compliance, accessibility and trust

• Privacy policy structured under the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, specifying OAIC complaint procedures.
• Drive-away pricing, statutory roadworthy disclosures, and a 14-day or 800 km return guarantee framed under the Australian Consumer Law.
• Corporate declaration for Southerly Motors Automotive Group Pty Ltd with sample ABN and an Acknowledgement of Country.
• Passes automated WCAG 2.2 AA checks on every page at 360, 390, 768 and 1440 px: no contrast failures, no unreachable controls, no horizontal scrolling.
• A language switcher built from hreflang sits in the header on desktop and in the footer on phones.

One system, twelve markets

Every visible string lives in one region pack per market (copy, data and alt text), and every colour and typeface in one theme file. This edition needed no new templates or components: a region pack, a theme, local data and legal content made it a different brand experience. For a dealer group with international plans, a new market becomes a content project rather than a rebuild.

Deliverables

• Market profile: language, formats, legal and seasonality
• Full localised copy across 26 templates, header, footer and forms
• Brand adaptation: palette, type pairing and logo descriptor
• 10 regional photographs (Pexels, credited in credits.json)
• Local legal content
• Accessibility pass (WCAG 2.2 AA, automated) and QA at four screen widths
• Portfolio media: stills, full-page captures, scroll video, OG image, brand board