Vauxhall were among the first to start some limited civilian production in August 1945, beginning with Bedford trucks, which had been produced during the war anyway. This was closely followed by the Bedford 5/6cwt & 10/12 cwt vans and eventually Vauxhall car production began in earnest during mid-September 1945 with a minimum 75% going for export, limited sales to British motorists commenced in November.

The Vauxhall 1946 model year cars were essentially the pre-war specification models sold briefly before production ceased in May 1940.

The 1203cc 10hp (now designated HIY) was only re-introduced as a Deluxe four door saloon with the slightly longer and wider body which had been big news when introduced for the 1940 model year but was only produced in tiny numbers before the outbreak of WWII. Unfortunately, the attractive 2 door coupe did not go back into production for no other reason than to streamline production, the 1442cc “I” 12hp and the 6 cylinder 1781cc “J” 14hp resumed production both only available as a Deluxe Saloon with a 6-side window body style.

Vauxhalls marketing department tried their best to make the 1946 models seem as “new” as possible but there were no major changes. The minor alterations included: New bonnet louvres in the form of lancing and shaped louvres, head, side & tail lights painted to match the colour of the body, new more robust door handles, new radiator grille with horizontal bars for the 10hp, bumper over-riders on the 14hp, bench front seating, all seats finished in brown leather, revised door trim, an electric clock, a spill proof rear ashtray mounted in the back of the front seat and a modified Zenith 30VIG-3 carburettor to improve economy although the quoted power outputs were slightly lower as a consequence of the anaemic low octane “pool” petrol that was available at the time. An improved, stiffer, rear axle design was fitted with the differential assembly mounted between taper roller bearings. The choice of colour for all three models was restricted to Black, Maroon & Florador Blue.

In a very short time Vauxhall dealers were quoting a 2 year waiting list in Britain for a new car, van or truck caused by almost 80% of all Vauxhall & Bedford output from Luton going overseas. This situation was common to all British motor manufacturers but focus on export markets  caused many domestic manufacturers huge reliability problems in territories with extreme weather temperature swings or very poor road conditions, fortunately for Vauxhall Alex Taub had insisted on much higher standards, set by General Motors in the US, for cold starting and hot weather engine cooling than was generally adhered to in Britain but this now paid dividends for Vauxhall & Bedford in many overseas markets.

In August 1946, the “I” 12hp was dropped and replaced by the “H” 12hp (designated HIX) using the same body as the 10hp (HIY) but with a higher ratio back axle and with both models selling for the same price. The 10hp was then dropped altogether in August 1947 after the government introduced a flat rate road tax system and meant that Vauxhall were able to streamline car production still further.

The 1948 model year 12hp & 14hp models were slightly revised. Following a request from the Government, like all motor manufacturers agreed to limit the availability of leather use in the interior trim. Consequently, all 12hp models were fitted with cloth seat upholstery with only the lower volume 14hp models continuing with leather interior trim. Colour choice was reduced from 3 to 2, Black and Night-Shade Blue. Slightly narrower tyres were fitted to the 12hp, 5.00x16 vs 5.25x16, which reduced the turning circle from 38.5ft to 35.5ft. The 12hp & 14hp continued in production until August 1948 when they were replaced by the Wyvern and Velox L Type models.

As soon as the pre-war models were in production work began urgently on replacements. Maurice Platt in Vauxhalls Engineering Department began experiments on over-boring the 6cylinder engine to the maximum 2275cc ready for the future model applications, these test engines were fitted to 14hp test mules to evaluate reliability and performance, which was a quantum leap over the 1781cc units, and required very careful handling. Several of these mules ended up in a ditch because the “J” chassis & braking struggled to cope with the increase in power.

Australia was always an important market for Vauxhall and GM Holden not only imported fully built cars but also locally assembled cars from CKD kits supplied from Britain. In addition, they modified several models to particularly suite Australian conditions. The 10hp was one such model which they sold as a Wyvern from 1938 until 1941 and resumed again in 1946 using the pre-war tooling and featured a six-light body. The model was sold as a Saloon and also a roadster called the Caleche, the latter being a 2-door based on the Bedford Van which still used a separate chassis with a folding windscreen and using the HIY 10hp 1203cc engine.