Hudson vehicles were assembled in other countries under license. The British sounding names of "Hudson" and "Essex" had made them popular in countries of the Commonwealth, and thus Terraplanes also were built outside the U.S. in Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa in low volume.
Australia
Australian law in the early 20th Century made it impractical to import a fully assembled car and thus main bodies were built by local vehicle body builders over an imported chassis. In a few cases these bodies included styles not available in the U.S. market such as tourers (U.S. equivalent phaeton) and coupe utilities (the Australian car-based pickup truck).
In 1915, the Sydney branch of Dalgety & Co. Ltd became the distributor of Hudson and Essex vehicles as well as other marques for New South Wales.[10] From 1922, Sydney company Smith & Waddington built vehicle bodies for Dalgety and other companies.[11] Smith & Waddington built the majority of the early Terraplane bodies with some also built by Sydney coach builder G.H Olding & Sons.[12] In February 1934, Ruskins Body Works of West Melbourne secured the contract to build Hudson and Terraplane bodies for the whole of Australia.[13] In June 1937, Neal's Motors celebrated assembling its 30,000th automobile: a 1937 Hudson Terraplane.[14]
New Zealand
Hudson and Essex vehicles were imported into New Zealand by Dominion Motors of Wellington which began operations in 1912. After Dominion Motors amalgamated with Universal Motor Company of Christchurch in 1919[15] the company added other marques from the United States and Britain. Vehicles, including Terraplanes, were assembled in-house from knock-down kits.
For South Island, Hudson and Essex vehicles were imported by W.G. Vining Limited of Nelson, beginning in 1912. Other U.S. and European brands were added and after the business was sold on 30 September 1927 Vining's son formed a new business, P. Vining & Scott, and continued the Hudson and Essex franchise.[16][17]
From 1935, Hudson and Terraplane vehicles (along with Nash, Studebaker, and Standard) were assembled by Christchurch company Motor Assemblies Limited. Production of all other marques ended when the company was acquired by Standard-Triumph International in 1954.[18]
United Kingdom
Following the First World War, Hudsons and Essex vehicles were sold through ten concessionaires. In 1922, Hudson-Essex Motors of Great Britain Limited was formed, with new premises on Dordrecht Road, in Acton Vale.[19] In 1926, a factory was built on 4½ acres of ground on the recently opened Great West Road in Brentford.[20] The plant opened in 1927 and a year later a three-story building was built as a service department for Hudson and Essex vehicles. The factory assembled the vehicle chassis locally but the bodies were imported as complete units from Detroit.
From 1932, the bodies came over from the United States in sections to be assembled at the Great West Road factory. After the Essex marque was retired in 1932 the British company was renamed Hudson Motors Ltd.[21]
Hudson's new Terraplane model was equally as popular in the U.K as it was in the United States. English-designed and built bodies were built on the Terraplane frames and the cars were even entered in a number of races including the Monte Carlo Rally. Some of the cars entered were driven by personnel from the Great West Road factory. The Team Award was won by two Terraplane tourers and a Terraplane saloon in the 1933 Scottish Rally.[22]
British Railton cars
The Terraplane 8-cylinder chassis and engine was also used in the British Railton automobiles for their initial production year 1933.
The 1934 Light Sports Tourer used a lightweight open four-seater body and mildly modified engine. It achieved 0-60 mph in 8.8 seconds, a sensational time pre-war, and a top speed of 107 mph on the 3.3:1 rear axle. The engine was so flexible that it could be driven in circles on full lock in top gear without snatching.
Numerous coach builders constructed Railton bodies for the Terraplane and later Hudson chassis. Railton cars continued to be built on 1934 Hudson 8, and later Hudson 6- and 8-cylinder chassis through 1939. The company was bought by Hudson in 1939.
