- Full details of the eight-generation Toyota HiLux revealed

The Australian car industry might be entering its twilight years in terms of manufacturing cars, but it's a long way from finished in creating vehicles specifically to suit our harsh conditions.

The latest, eight-generation Toyota HiLux is a prime example, as the Japanese brand claims Australian customers demanded an even tougher workhorse ute.

To cater for our unique requirements - which stretch from suburban family duties to recreational off-roading, as well as farming and working in the mining industry - Toyota Australia's engineering team has spent more than six years creating a more rugged variant of the car maker's toughest ute.

During that time it conducted more than 650,000km of local testing throughout rural Victoria, New South Wales and the Northern Territory to cater for what it claims are the "toughest customers in the world".

It conducted enough trial work in Australia, the HiLux's global chief engineer, Hiroki Nakajima even nicknamed the Anglesea Proving Ground - near Torquay on Victoria's southern coast - Minami Fuji, which translates to South Fuji; a reference to Toyota's primary test centre called Higashi Fuji (or East Fuji) in Japan.

"A global company like Toyota generally develops a vehicle that can be used in all markets around the world and that means ensuring commanility wherever possible. However, in Australia we have had a noticeable success in bucking that trend," said Toyota Australia's chief engineer, Max Gillard.

"The Hilux is a potent example and we were able to demonstrate to Toyota Motor Corporation that Australian customers have a significantly different expectation and useage condition compared to some other regions.

"As a result there is no two Hiluxes for planet earth; there's the Hilux for the Asian market mainly for Thailand where the focus is more on people carrying and their loads and a higher proportion of made-road driving whereby they prefer a slightly softer suspension package.

"And then there is the rugged package that was developed here in Australia."

Toyota Australia's "Tough" HiLux has been deemed such a success that it has now been earmarked for other global regions, including South Africa, South America, the Middle East and Russia.

"We have the toughest road conditions in the world, all in one country," added Gillard.

"And we have the expertise. In the end, we developed a mantra for the HiLux that 'if it can survive Australia, it can survive anywhere'."

Toyota says its research proved that almost one in four Hilux owners take their vehicle off-road every day and that two-thirds of them carry a load of at least 350kg each day, highlighting the popularity of its workhorse among small business owners and tradespeople as well as extensive use within mining and agricultural industries.

Toyota has even developed an extensive suite of options specifically for Australian customers, with more than 200 accessories for the HiLux including a range of bull bars that maintain its crash-safety credentials. It has even gone to the extent of creating an Industry Package tailor made for mining, construction and other industries.

The HiLux development program has further cemented Toyota Australia as the Japanese brand's centre of excellence for off-road vehicle development, which ensures it will retain an engineering outpost well beyond the closure of its Altona manufacturing facility in 2018.

Both Ford and Holden have also committed to similar long-term programs, assisting their respective parent companies with the development of global vehicles and fine-tuning imported vehicles to suit local tastes.

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