Original vehicle	Badge engineered derivative
Ford Falcon Ford Falcon (Australia) The Ford Falcon is a full-size car which has been manufactured by Ford Australia since 1960. Each model from the XA series of 1972 onward has been designed, developed and built in Australia and/or New Zealand, following the phasing out of the American Falcon of 1960–71 which had been re-engineered...	Nissan Ute
Holden Commodore Holden Commodore The Holden Commodore is an automobile manufactured since 1978 by the Holden subsidiary of General Motors in Australia, and, formerly, in New Zealand. In the mid-1970s, Holden established proposals to replace the long-serving Kingswood nameplate with a smaller, Opel-based model...	Toyota Lexcen
Nissan Patrol	Ford Maverick Ford Maverick The Ford Motor Company has marketed the following models using the Ford Maverick nameplate:* The Ford Maverick , a sport-styled compact car sold in North America and Brazil during the 1970s....
Nissan Pintara Nissan Pintara The Nissan Pintara is a mid-sized automobile that was manufactured by Nissan Australia from 1986 until 1992.- First generation :...	Ford Corsair
Nissan Pulsar Nissan Pulsar The Nissan Pulsar is an automobile that was produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1978, when it debuted as a subcompact car, to 2007, when it was replaced in all markets by the Nissan Tiida. It was originally conceived as a replacement for Nissan's first front-wheel drive platform, the...	Holden Astra Holden Astra The Holden Astra is a compact car that was marketed by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors. Spanning five generations, the original, Australia-only Astra of 1984 was a derivative of the locally-produced Nissan Pulsar, as was the 1987 Astra...
Toyota Camry Toyota Camry The Toyota Camry is a series of mid-size automobiles manufactured by Toyota since 1982, and sold in the majority of automotive markets throughout the world...	Holden Apollo Holden Apollo The Holden Apollo is a compact and later mid-size car that was distributed from 1989 to 1997 by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors . As a successor to the GM-engineered Holden Camira, the Apollo was a badge engineered version of the Toyota Camry, also sold in Australia...
Toyota Corolla Toyota Corolla The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million...	Holden Nova Holden Nova The Holden Nova was a compact car that was produced by the GM-Holden-Toyota alliance, known as United Australian Automobile Industries in Australia between August 1989 and 1996. The alliance, and therefore the car, was a result of the failed Button car plan which attempted to rationalise the...

The Button car plan, also known as the Button plan was the informal name given to the Motor Industry Development Plan. The plan was an Australian federal government initiative, intended to rationalise the Australian motor vehicle industry. Industry consultation had begun in 1984 with a proposed start date of 1985. The plan took its name from Senator

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

 John Button

John Button

John Norman Button was an Australian politician, who served as a senior minister in the Hawke and Keating Labor governments...

, the federal Minister for Commerce, Trade and Industry.

At the time of its inception, Australia's motor industry was heavily protected by import

Import

The term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country. The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an "importer" who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an "exporter". Thus...

 tariffs, harbouring the assembly of thirteen different models by various manufacturers. The Button car plan aimed to reduce this number to eight models, with the aim of forcing some amount of industry consolidation. The over-arching aim of the scheme was to make the motor vehicle industry in Australia more efficient by consolidation of resources, allowing the import tariffs to be gradually unwound. This in turn would theoretically expose the local industry to increased competition from imported products, fostering improvement in local vehicles and creating the basis for a competitive export industry.

The most obvious effect of the plan for the Australian car buyer was the appearance of badge engineered vehicles, where the same basic vehicle was sold by several different companies under different names. Other approaches included the Ford Courier

Ford Courier

- North America :This was a commercial model based on Ford's full-size stationwagon line. Its model code was designated 78A.From 1952 to 1956 access to the rear storage area was through a unique door hinged on the side. For 1957 and 1958, the rear access door was a combination of the lift gate and...

 and Mazda B-Series utilities utilizing Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Motors

is a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...

's 2.6 litre Astron

Mitsubishi Astron engine

The Mitsubishi Astron or 4G5 engine, is a series of straight-4 internal combustion engines first built by Mitsubishi Motors in 1972. Engine displacement ranged from 1.8 to 2.6 litres, making it one of the largest four-cylinder engines of its time....

four-cylinder engine, and a proposal to replace Mitsubishi's locally built Colt

Mitsubishi Colt

The Mitsubishi Colt is a vehicle built by Mitsubishi Motors since 1962. It was first introduced as a series of kei cars and subcompact cars in the 1960s, and then as the export version of the Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback in the 1980s and 1990s...

 with a rebadged Toyota Corolla

Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million...

. This proposal however, never eventuated.

Holden initially teamed up with Nissan in 1984, where the Nissan Pulsar

Nissan Pulsar

The Nissan Pulsar is an automobile that was produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1978, when it debuted as a subcompact car, to 2007, when it was replaced in all markets by the Nissan Tiida. It was originally conceived as a replacement for Nissan's first front-wheel drive platform, the...

 was sold as the Holden Astra

Holden Astra

The Holden Astra is a compact car that was marketed by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors. Spanning five generations, the original, Australia-only Astra of 1984 was a derivative of the locally-produced Nissan Pulsar, as was the 1987 Astra...

. Later Pulsar and Astra models in Australia used Holden-sourced powertrain

Powertrain

In a motor vehicle, the term powertrain or powerplant refers to the group of components that generate power and deliver it to the road surface, water, or air. This includes the engine, transmission, drive shafts, differentials, and the final drive...

s. This arrangement dissolved in 1989, and General Motors–Holden's

Holden

GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...

 and Toyota formed United Australian Automobile Industries

United Australian Automobile Industries

United Australian Automobile Industries was a firm founded in Australia in 1989 as the result of an agreement between Holden and Toyota. For Holden, it replaced the earlier Holden-Nissan joint venture that had existed since 1983.UAAI produced three vehicles: the Holden Apollo, Holden Nova and...

 (UAAI). The vehicles produced as a result of this joint venture

Joint venture

A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...

, the Holden Apollo

Holden Apollo

The Holden Apollo is a compact and later mid-size car that was distributed from 1989 to 1997 by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors . As a successor to the GM-engineered Holden Camira, the Apollo was a badge engineered version of the Toyota Camry, also sold in Australia...

 (Toyota Camry

Toyota Camry

The Toyota Camry is a series of mid-size automobiles manufactured by Toyota since 1982, and sold in the majority of automotive markets throughout the world...

), Holden Nova

Holden Nova

The Holden Nova was a compact car that was produced by the GM-Holden-Toyota alliance, known as United Australian Automobile Industries in Australia between August 1989 and 1996. The alliance, and therefore the car, was a result of the failed Button car plan which attempted to rationalise the...

 (Toyota Corolla

Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million...

) and Toyota Lexcen

Holden Commodore

The Holden Commodore is an automobile manufactured since 1978 by the Holden subsidiary of General Motors in Australia, and, formerly, in New Zealand. In the mid-1970s, Holden established proposals to replace the long-serving Kingswood nameplate with a smaller, Opel-based model...

 (Holden Commodore

Holden Commodore

The Holden Commodore is an automobile manufactured since 1978 by the Holden subsidiary of General Motors in Australia, and, formerly, in New Zealand. In the mid-1970s, Holden established proposals to replace the long-serving Kingswood nameplate with a smaller, Opel-based model...

) lasted until 1996 for the Holden-badged derivatives models, and 1997 for Lexcen.

This sharing of models proved unpopular with buyers, and original models outsold their badge engineered counterparts. The last of such models, the Toyota Lexcen (Holden Commodore) was dropped in 1997. Rather than share locally-assembled models with other manufacturers, Holden, Ford, and Toyota decided to import fully built-up models from subsidiaries elsewhere in the world, mainly Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Mitsubishi Motors

Mitsubishi Motors

is a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...

 did not share models with other manufacturers during the period of the plan, while Nissan ended car manufacturing in Australia completely in 1994, while Mitsubishi ended Australian manufacturing in 2008.