Does anyone know if any auto beetles were assembled in Australia in the 73-75 L series?

As far as I know - no

never seen one or heard of one

73 and very early 74 they did, not assembled here though, fully imported.
there was one around here many years back that would have been one of the last 74 ones as it had the Park position.
They dropped semiautos in 74 in Aus, they weren't a big seller.

ok... so you could still buy and order a new L type beetle with semi auto 73-74 but it would be fully imported?
I have a passion for these cars and want to know as much as possible.
thanks

There was one at the VW Nationals many years ago owned by an executive from VW, it was an imported car, apparently it survived cyclone Tracy

Beetlecab,
Myself and 68Autobug have been around the semi-Auto scene for a while. I remember both of us have seen the same '75 (advertised as) SA for sale YEARS ago. Just that one in all this time.

I would be looking at grabbing a '73 if possible. As others have noted - they were in the process (in Aus) of being phased out by the time the L-Bug's were released.


HTH - but cold comfort...
Volkenstein

Thanks again...I was looking at a import 73 super bug curved screen semi auto with air.. low mileage but it looks to have some rust problems with just sitting.. gone off it now.
i have a 72S commerative semi auto so that will have to keep me happy for now. I just love the semi auto!

The 1972 semi-auto Superbug was listed at $2299, when the normal Superbug was $2144. However the semi-auto was no longer listed from 1974, as Joel has said.

You could have bought a Datsun 1200 (with 62 bhp) for $1914 in 1972, or the fully auto version for $2334. The Datsun 1600 (96 bhp) was $2363. The Mazda 1300 (73 bhp ) was $1899, and the Toyota Corolla (73 bhp) was $2049 for the manual or $2289 for the full auto. By the early 1970s semi-autos were seen as primitive and passé compared with the full autos on the Japanese competition. Even the Ford Escort started at $1925, and the Holden Torana from $1923. The Renault 10S was $2082. VW Beetles were never cheap in Australia and it's no wonder that LNC Industries canned imports of the semi-auto.

In the early 1970s Aussies could buy Japanese cars with more performance and appointments for less money than the Volkswagen Superbug. And they did - VW's sales dropped from 19,100 in 1971 to just 14,000 in 1974 - which included just 2,025 Superbugs and 947 VW 1300s. The Passat with 3,400 sold more than the Superbug and 1300 Beetle put together in 1974.