New Zealand’s only locally-designed and mass-produced motor vehicle
Around 2,500 Trekkas were built between 1966-1972 at the vehicle assembly plant of Motor Holdings, in Ōtāhuhu South Auckland.
The Trekka blended a locally designed and manufactured body with the complete mechanical kit of a Skoda Octavia station wagon, with "local content" reaching an unheard-of 70 percent.
It sold strongly due to the ready availability of other small utility vehicles, the absence of the long waiting lists that existed for popular models, and its low price.
In the past decade, a strong restoration culture has evolved, and an example sits in Skoda's factory museum in Mladá Boleslav in the Czech Republic, marking a small but important step in its global history.
The Trekka's extraordinary history is told in the book "The Trekka Dynasty" by Todd Niall.
Purchase a copy via Trademe, or make contact with the author at toddniall@gmail.com.
"The Trekka's Tale" is a radio documentary produced by Todd Niall in 2001 for Radio New Zealand. It tells the Trekka's story through the voices of many who took part in its production.
The Trekka's Tale can be heard on RNZ in two 2-hour parts.
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Trekka turns 60!
On December 2 1966, the first production Trekka’s burst through a white curtain and emerged from Motor Industries’ Otahuhu assembly plant.
In the media
The empty halls of New Zealand's car assembly industry
The Trekka was built in a busy car assembly plant in Otahuhu Auckland. Amazingly, decades after the plant closed its interior remained intact. Todd Niall went there with former chief executive Rob Elliott and you can join his reminiscence in this video.
In the media
A blast from the past: the Trekka’s new life on TV and music videos
Six decades after its launch, the Trekka is working its way into contemporary culture, featuring in a television commercial, and an animated Kiwi music video.
