Financial law reform on hold

Used cars to face high-tech issuesSolutions will be needed to

integrate used imported vehicles into mandatory

intelligent transport systems (ITS) and regulations because Japan may use different communication spectrums in cars sold there.

For New Zealand to reap the benefits of high-tech systems in its fleet, an after-market product may have to be developed that translates data signals in vehicles to our allocated frequency.

That was the view of Nick Brown, general manager of aviation and maritime at the

Ministry of Transport (MoT), on the way forward for New Zealand at the 13th ITS Asia Pacific Forum held in Auckland.

“I don’t think we’re going to get into a situation where the world uses a single spectrum,” he told the conference, which was attended by about 400 delegates from 28 countries.

Another option could be unplugging ITS units from vehicles and installing them into New Zealand-specific systems after broadcasting frequencies and standards have been set.

“Technology that makes cars hard to crash could have a transformational change on our road toll,” said Brown.

“With a lot of other technology – be it enforcement or investment in infrastructure – it can bring the toll down gradually.”

The government has also addressed issues related to data, including ownership, security and privacy, and another major issue will be regulation and investment through agencies.

“Technology is a challenge when it comes to regulation, not

[continued on page 4]

The trusted voice of the auto industry for more than 25 yearsIssue 9-2014

21 May 2014

In this issuep3 End of road for Luddites

p7 Autofile quizzes minister

p10 Spotlight falls on Rotorua

p14 Safer Journeys progress

p15 Sonata sings with design

p19 Failing standard of proof

Specialised training to increase your sales

www.autofile.co.nz

Delays to the third and final reading of new legislation to stamp

out loan sharks are preventing the industry from planning the Responsible Lending Code.

The Financial Services Federation (FSF) is still waiting for Parliament to pass the Credit Contracts and Financial Services

Law Reform Bill as well as the Supplementary Order Paper (SOP).

The SOP addresses industry concerns arising out of the bill as reported back to the house by the commerce select committee.

The so-called loan-shark laws had new clauses relating to credit-related insurance (CRI) and extended warranties added in the

second reading of the bill.But the SOP will address

problems relating to these clauses, which were highlighted by the FSF, and its members operating in the finance and motor vehicle industry.

A ban was proposed on paying lenders commission on CRI

[continued on page 6]

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editor’s note

End of the road for LudditesThe dictionary definition and

modern use of “Luddite” is “somebody opposed to

increased industrialisation or new technology”, but its origins can be found in 19th-century England.

The Luddites were textile artisans who protested against newly developed labour-saving equipment from 1811-17.

Power looms – and stocking and spinning frames – were introduced during the Industrial Revolution, and meant less-skilled and low-wage labourers could replace them.

Folklore suggests the movement was named after Ned Ludd, a youth who smashed two stocking frames in 1779.

The world has evolved since then. People either embrace technology with the enthusiasm of a puppy or sneer at it with suspicion, yet its advance cannot be stopped.

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) will be as big a game-changer in the automotive sector as cars being hybrid, electric or fuel-cell driven.

That’s why the government, its agencies, high-tech companies and our industry organisations are taking such keen interest.

When it comes to ITS here, will we be proactive, reactive, fall into line with the rest of the world, or follow other countries such as Japan and Australia?

When it comes to some the ITS systems around Auckland, there is scepticism among some motorists.

Take the motorway tunnel near Orewa, known as the Northern Gateway.

Cameras on gantries record vehicles’ number plates to ensure users pay on time. But if you don’t have a debit or credit card, you have to throw cash into inadequate machines.

The SH1 extension heading

north is two lanes before reducing to single file a few kilometres before the tunnel.

This is because the road on the other side is one lane and traffic needs to flow freely in the tunnel, presumably to prevent people inhaling too many fumes. The result can be massive traffic jams to use this route, which is supposed to make the trip north much quicker.

To make matters worse, there were no signs before the last off-ramp to advise Easter holidaymakers of the delays ahead and give them the chance to take alternative routes.

There was nothing intelligent about that, really.

This situation will not change until SH1 is extended on the other side of the tunnel, which has been built for two lanes of traffic in that direction.

Another example of ITS in Auckland are on-ramp lights that limit traffic flow onto motorways.

They are often decried by motorists, especially when queueing eight deep over the Christmas holidays when SH1 is empty.

The authorities defend the system by saying the city’s road network would grind to a halt without them.

On a positive note, however, the ITS Asia Pacific Forum held in Auckland for the first time was an amazing insight into a future that’s just around the corner.

There will be impacts on the automotive industry, from advanced safety systems that “talk” with roadside computers to driverless cars.

Some developments are featured in this issue of Autofile and there’s more in the technology section of www.autofile.co.nz.

One thing is for sure with ITS and that’s these systems will not wait for the Luddites to catch on.

Darren Risby, editor

Copyright: Published twice monthly by 4Media, PO Box 6222, Dunedin 9059 All statements made, although based on information believed to be accurate and reliable, cannot be guaranteed, and no liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions. Reproduction of autofile in whole or part, without written permission, whether by xerography or any other means, is strictly forbidden. All rights reserved.

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Autofile is also available as an electronic copy via email. If you’d like to receive electronic copies please send an email with your name and organisation to: subscribe@autofile.co.nz. Back copies are also available on request.

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[continued from page 1]

news

least because it changes rapidly. It will probably change the way we regulate.”

The government will now initiate a forum with key ITS stakeholders, such as agencies, councils, users and suppliers.

“It will be a place where everyone comes together to achieve some consensus,” said Brown. “There’s an important role for the government in providing strategic leadership and initiating collaboration.”

He added this country’s final ITS action plan was close to being finalised.

“It’s a plan for government and a multi-modal plan. It proposes 15 areas of activity and 40 specific actions the government is going to deliver over the next four years.”

INVESTING IN SYSTEMSThe NZTA has outlined its

Action plan for the future

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factors – benefits and principles, clarifying our role and alignment of

ITS investments.”The next aim is to confirm

sector roles and run pilots to confirm the potential of systems. These may include seeing if crowd-sourced GPS data can be used in traffic

management.Other trials may cover

better ways of identifying vehicles and after-market devices to “smarten up dumb cars”, while ITS here will have to be aligned to the wider world.

“We’re keen to play a proactive role in making good things happen sooner,” said Frost. “Collaboration is key to landing opportunities.”

Martin Matthews, chief executive officer of the MoT, said his department would help set

investment priorities for ITS. They include real-time safe-speed messages to drivers, innovative pricing approaches and efficiency in the freight supply chain.

The agency says progress in vehicle-related systems will be affected by the time it takes for the fleet to be upgraded.

It believes ITS benefits connected to vehicles will be fewer deaths, serious injuries and crashes, lower insurance premiums, safer vehicles, increased compliance and drivers making safer decisions.

Allan Frost, group manager of organisational support, told forum delegates the NZTA was adopting “upfront thinking” to challenges and saw collaboration as essential.

“We’ve identified three success

ITS with Autofile Online

Visit www.autofile.co.nz for more stories from the 13th ITS Asia Pacific Forum.One is about a new system that uses

pedestrians’ smartphones to alert drivers. Developed by Mazda and the University of

Tokyo, it has been trialled in Japan.A system that changes traffic signals so

ambulances aren’t forced to run red lights is being rolled out in Queensland.

And ITS are already driving New Zealand’s transport

network.

“We’re keen to play a proactive role in making good things happen sooner.”

– Allan Frost, NZTA

www.autofile.co.nz | 5

by Google for US$1 billion, boast 60 million users.

They were now pointing the way to the future particularly in attracting younger people.

He urged delegates to stay ahead of the game as technology brought new players into the

sector such as Domino Pizza, one of the largest fleet operators in the US. “We must understand their needs and partner with them.”

David Warburton, chief executive officer of Auckland Transport, said ITS could help deliver choices where and when people wanted them.

He said areas where ITS could be useful included event and incident management and parking.

Carey Griffiths, New Zealand Police’s national road policing manager, said systems needed to support safer journeys, safer roads and safer speeds.

“We see ITS helping manage compliant drivers so we can focus on high-risk drivers, in particular speed and alcohol.”

Technology could help prove offences in courts, which Griffiths said would be important in determining how to handle privacy issues.

“ITS will deliver significant benefits to law enforcement in providing better road safety and efficiency.”

The system’s success has resulted in a trial of speed-limit signs, which display 20kph when school buses stop.

Hamish Mackie, of Mackie Research and Consulting, said it was effective because people’s attentions were caught well-ahead of the signs by showing a flash and then the speed.

“Drivers are told exactly what to do, removing uncertainty about speeds.”

TAKING GLOBAL VIEWThe chairman of ITS Japan explained how he headed up a government framework for automated driving to reduce fatal crashes, increase traffic efficiency and enhance mobility for older people.

Dr Hiroyuki Watanabe said: “Like New Zealand, Japan has a growing population of ageing people.

“We are now focusing on the social benefits of ITS to reduce congestion and accidents, and give the aged greater mobility.”

Scott Belcher, president of ITS America, said transportation needed new technology-led solutions.

He said smartphones had become the most important tools. “It’s where you start your trip and decide whether to take your car, public transport or ride share.”

Belcher said technology driven organisations, such as Cars To Go – a vehicle-sharing operation owned by the same company as Mercedes-Benz, and Waze, bought

government ITS priorities.It will be advising on

ITS policy, regulation and investment, while looking ahead there is a need to remove legal barriers to accelerate the uptake of systems.

TUNING IN BLUETOOTHBluetooth sensors are operating on Kiwi roads to monitor traffic, with more than 3,000km of lanes covered by BlipTrack developed by Blip Systems in Denmark.

Engineering company Beca was behind the devices’ implementation here, and they have been installed on the Waikato Expressway and in Auckland’s Victoria Park Tunnel.

Richard Young, senior project manager at Beca, said they pick up Bluetooth signals from cars to give the NZTA live journey times and route choices.

It can pick up Bluetooth in all vehicles from cellphones, headsets or in-car navigation systems.

“Most devices are for cars,” said Young. “It’s difficult to buy a new car without Bluetooth configured and you have to go deep into menus to turn it off.

“New Zealand has one of the oldest fleets in the world, so we expect the pick-up rate to increase.”

Bluetooth addresses can be encrypted before data is despatched to make it impossible to identify the device’s owner.

KIWIS TACKLE SPEEDERSStudies on variable speed-limit technology on New Zealand’s roads show it’s helping to cut the risk of fatalities.

The rural intersection active warning system developed by Kiwi company Armitage Group displays a temporary 70kph limit when potential conflicts – such as right-turning vehicles on main roads – arise.

Sensors before intersections trigger signs to display the reduced limit. When there are no vehicles crossing or turning, they stay blank.

At one location, the risk of a car’s passengers being killed or seriously injured dropped from 60 to 25 per cent after installation.

Peter McCombs, president of ITS NZ, told delegates: “We are immensely proud to host the 13th ITS Asia Pacific Forum.”

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news

“We’d like to see it passed sooner rather than later, like everyone else, so we can get on with writing the code and getting it implemented,” says McMorran.

The federation is also keen to see loan sharks prevented

from exploiting borrowers through enforcement of the new legislation as soon as possible.

“It’s unfortunate the bill has gone through the committee of the whole house stage right before the budget,” she says.

Passing the bill following its third reading is expected to be relatively quick once it gets on the order paper.

In the lead up to New Zealand’s general election the priority given to the bill compared to other legislation they have on their agenda will determine when it will get read again.

Extensive discussions with the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Craig Foss, and his officials has enabled FSF to voice industry concerns about eliminating commission for CRI and extended warranties.

“As a result of these discussions, a Supplementary Order Paper [SOP] was raised to accompany the Credit Contracts and Financial Services Reform Bill through the house on its third reading.

“This resulted in a change to the new paragraph (c) of clause 25 of the bill amending section 45 of the act preventing commission from being paid to the creditor if the credit-related insurance [CRI] premium is being funded by the loan.

“The SOP amended this paragraph to read ‘the insurance is financed under the credit contract and the creditor has, in relation to the credit-related insurance [CRI] contract, breached

section 9b(3b) in any respect’.“That will not prohibit the

payment of commission to lenders financing the credit-related insurance premium so long as this is responsibly sold and, in relation to 9B(3B) of the bill, that the

creditor has assisted the borrower to reach an informed decision as to whether or not to enter into the agreement and to be reasonably aware of the full implications of entering into the agreement.”

Another way of interpreting this would be that a creditor can receive commission on credit insurance financed by it, so long as the creditor has made reasonable inquiries to satisfy itself that: The insurance will meet the

borrower’s requirements and objectives and

 The borrower can make the loan payments without substantial hardship.

“Ultimately, the SOP is a very good result for responsible providers of CRI recognising that in the majority of cases such insurances are being sold responsibly and that they do provide significant benefit to consumers if they are ever in the unfortunate position of needing to claim on them.”

“We are grateful to the Minister for listening to our concerns and taking the time to understand them.

“The FSF and the government want to stop some of the dreadful behaviour that goes on, and there is value in CRI when it’s sold reasonably.

“After all, the vast majority of loans and related credit-insurances are sold responsibly to the mutual benefit of the consumer and the credit provider.”

news

Finance providers await changepolicies – such as guaranteed asset protection and payment protection – financed under credit agreements.

It was feared issues would arise if lenders were banned from receiving commission and effectively being paid for their time in arranging such products in this way – as happens in the vast majority of such contracts.

However, the SOP includes changing the clause so that commission can be paid to the extent of a reasonable level and if the products are sold in a responsible manner.

Details about how commission on credit-related insurance (CRI) and extended warranties will work will be covered in the Responsible Lending Code that forms part of the legislation.

Lyn McMorran, executive director of the FSF, told Autofile: “We are very

supportive if it comes out like this because it’s what we asked for.”

FSF is relieved the government will address the issue because not paying financiers and agents for organising CRI policies could have led to many consumers losing the

option of taking it out.The federation hoped the bill’s

third reading might occur prior to the budget announcement on May 15 but it did not happen.

FSF expects to see it pass before Parliament rises at the end of July prior to the election.

“We’d like to see it passed sooner rather than later, like everyone else, so we can get on with writing the code and getting it implemented.” – Lyn McMorran, FSF

[continued from page 1]

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After the second reading of the Credit Contracts and Financial Services Reform

Bill, Autofile asked the government why clauses on commission for credit-related insurance (CRI) and extended warranties had been put into the proposed legislation.

They provoked an outcry in the financial and automotive sectors – and not just because of their unintended consequences. They also appeared to be tagged onto the loan-shark laws at the 11th hour.

Craig Foss, Minister for Commerce Affairs, was asked why the clause banning lenders from receiving CRI commission was added for the bill’s second reading.

He said the Commerce Select Committee believed allowing commission to be charged on insurance “would result in the creditor receiving interest and fees from funding the premium, as well as the commission”.

Under the clause, the provider would have been unable to receive commission for arranging CRI if its premium was financed by the loan.

“This was seen as a double benefit inconsistent with the policy direction of the act in relation to credit fees where creditors generally can’t add to costs they pass onto borrowers.”

Foss said clauses were added for the second reading by the Commerce Select Committee after it heard submissions.

Another new clause related to extended warranties in that when they went beyond the loans’ terms subsequent payments would have to have been refunded.

For example, if a car loan was paid off within two years and the buyer had a three-year warranty, would it have been necessary to cancel the warranty with the difference refunded to the consumer?

“The bill as introduced extended the rebate obligation

to repayment waivers and the committee added a rebate for extended warranties,” replied Foss.

“The bill only applied to warranties provided by the creditor and it’s appropriate for the relationship with the creditor to be ruled off if the loan is repaid. An extended warranty can run with the

car if it’s sold and the debt repaid.”

Autofile asked the minister if he agreed lending and insurance should go hand-in-hand to offer protection for consumers.

“Nothing prevents lenders from making insurance cover a mandatory term of the loan agreement,” he replied.

“The committee wanted to remove the double benefit of creditors receiving fees and interest on the premium as well commission on selling the policy.”

Foss pointed out that extra changes and recommendations to the bill were also made following a report by officials.

Some consequential amendments were made to its revised version, which weren’t reflected in recommendations to the select committee.

In regards to insurance commission, a government report outlined the issue.

“The bill prohibits a creditor from charging commission on CRI when the creditor requires the debtor to obtain the insurance from a particular insurer or insurers, or has an arrangement in place that has the same effect,” it stated.

“In some situations, the creditor will finance the insurance under the credit contract. It isn’t clear whether these arrangements are also captured by the prohibition on commission.”

The report’s solution and approach at the time was “where CRI is financed under the credit contract, the prohibition on receiving a commission should apply”.

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Craig Foss

a fresh approachto dealer finance

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www.MyFinance.co.nz 0800 385 385

Minister explains action McMillan reflectsBob McMillan is

looking forward to travelling and

learning to play golf as he prepares to hand over his 50 per cent share of Team McMillan BMW to its co-owner Collins Asset Management in June.

“The offer was put to me and I couldn’t refuse,” he told Autofile.

McMillan, pictured, is 72 and looking forward to retirement.

“It’s a seven day a week business and you have to work six days a week, between eight and 10 hours a day to succeed.”

He has been a dealer his entire working life, apart from two years after he left school when he was a public accountant.

His first role was at John Andrew Ford, before he left to work at a Ford dealership in eastern Sydney.

He returned to New Zealand and became a sub-dealer for John Andrew Ford.

“I hated the word sub – one per cent of the sale went to John Andrew,” he told Autofile. “I fought like

hell and a year later I was made a full dealer in 1970.”

He took over the original BMW dealership in 1985, which grew to become Team McMillan, New Zealand’s largest BMW dealership.

He says the biggest industry changes have been centred on technology.

“We’re selling more cars, but the prices are lower and the cars are smaller, meaning lower margins,” he says.

“Today dealers have had to reset their business plan and focus on parts, service, finance and insurance.”

Read the full McMillan story in June 5 Autofile

8 | www.autofile.co.nz

controls on used imports.MIA facilitated meetings

with government, some media commentators, the AA and a number of MIA members.

Of principal interest to the FCAI were the conditions in New Zealand at the time the used car sector developed, how parallel and used imports have co-existed and experiences of the new vehicles distributors in New Zealand during that time.

The study tour was as interesting for me as it was for them, as this was the first opportunity I’ve had to consider the history of the new and used sectors since taking up the role as chief executive of MIA early last year.

For me the main discussion points of interest relate to the political and business

environment in the ’80s and ’90s compared to now and the difference between used and parallel imports.

One of the early points to arise in the discussion was the difference between parallel imports and used imports.

We consider parallel imports to be the importation of near new vehicles that bypass the official New Zealand distributor for that marque.

These vehicles have typically been registered (sold) overseas with little mileage, de-registered and then imported into the country purportedly as a new vehicle.

Under the Motor Vehicle Sales Act they are not new vehicles as they have previously been registered overseas and as such they have for the purposes of

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letter to the editor

David Crawford, chief executive of the Motor Industry Association of New Zealand (MIA) writes about the changes to the Australian motor vehicle industry and New Zealand’s experience.

During April, Tony Weber, chief executive of the Federal Chambers of

Automotive Industries (FCAI), Australia and James Hurnall, their technical director, visited New Zealand to study our experiences with both the parallel and used vehicle import sectors.

This follows recent discussions across the ditch on the potential relaxation of

MIA facilitates FCAI study tour

Australian industry angstFederal Chambers of

Automotive Industries (FCAI) is a lead industry

organisation that represents the manufacturers and importers of passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles and motorcycles in Australia.

The organisation is currently reviewing the changes happening in Australia that are similar to those experienced in New Zealand 25 years ago.

Following last week’s budget announcements in Australia FCAI stated the Australian government has undermined the job security of tens of thousands of automotive manufacturing and supply chain workers with its plan to cut $900 million from the Automotive Transformation Scheme (ATS).

Australia’s three domestic automotive manufacturers; Toyota, Holden and Ford and their supply chain are working to transition their operations after they announced the closure of the Australian car-

making operations earlier this year.“After only eight months in

office, the government has vowed to cut $900 million of the $1.3 billion in funding that remains in the ATS from 2015,” says FCAI chief executive Tony Weber.

“If this cut passes Parliament, it will intensify the financial pressure on the supply chain, which has already factored ATS funding into their long-term business and investment decision-making process.”

Weber was deeply concerned for the 45,000 workers directly employed, and the more than 100,000 workers indirectly employed in the automotive sector, around Australia.

“The FCAI has repeatedly advised the government of the serious consequences significant cuts to the ATS could have on the automotive industry in Australia, at what is already a difficult time for manufacturing and supply chain workers,” says Weber.

our legislation been sold, albeit they are in new or near new condition when they arrive in New Zealand because they might not have travelled more than 50 to 100kms.

Used imports are typically older vehicles that have been sold to an end user. They clearly are not new.

Managing parallel imports compared to used imports raises different considerations.

One thing that was clear from the discussions we had was the business environment is very different now compared to when the used car sector first developed in New Zealand.

Back in the 1980s we had a heavily regulated market, high tariffs to protect our domestic manufacturing and assembling operations and an old fleet.

In 1988 the floating interest rate was 19 per cent but aggressive action by successive governments to control inflation over the past 25 years has dropped mortgage interest rates to around five to six per cent today.

Today’s business in New Zealand is very similar to Australia.

All this raises the question of whether there is any public benefit to freeing up the market in Australia to allow in a large

number of used imports. The rate of vehicle ownership

in both countries is very high with more than 700 vehicles per 1000 people.

The big difference between Australia and New Zealand remains the average age of the vehicle fleets and the penetration rate of safer vehicle technologies.

Australia has a lower average vehicle age and the rate of penetration of new technology is much higher than in New Zealand.

It will be an interesting time for Australia as they grapple with whether or not they should free up the importation of used vehicles.

It is my view that there appears to be much to lose and little to gain for the Australian consumer.

David Crawford, chief executive Motor Industry Association

www.autofile.co.nz | 9

Quick clean power New advisor for IMVIAIt’s been a long way between

charges in Northland but the introduction of a fast-charge

station for electric vehicles (EV) makes environmentally-friendly cars a serious motoring option for northerners.

New Zealand’s first fast-charge station for EVs was officially opened by Minister for the Environment Amy Adams on May 8.

The station - operated by Northpower in Alexander St, provides motorists with a free charge that only takes 30 minutes.

In its central location people can pop over the road for a coffee or visit the library in the time needed to achieve an 80 per cent charge of their EV battery.

IC Motor Group Nissan brand manager, Glenn Mudgway says

the fast-charge station must be a huge benefit for Whangarei and EV owners.

“It’s innovative and a huge kudos that the first fast charger has happened in Whangarei,” he says.

The Whangarei dealership had enquiries when the fast-charge

station opened and Mudgway recognises the increased potential of EVs with improved charging infrastructure.

Drivers cover big distances in Northland and 100 to 150 kilometres between charging

stations was too far, and waiting eight hours for a full charge with a standard charger was prohibitive.

Northpower is determined to get people into electric vehicles and for the foreseeable future the charger will be free to use.

The newest arrival at the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association

(IMVIA) will drive the organisation into the future of motoring.

The team at the Auckland office has been strengthened with the appointment of Lonnie O (Kit) Wilkerson IV, pictured, as the new policy advisor and analyst.

Chief executive, David Vinsen says the position aligns with similar officials in government departments.

“We met with the Associate Minister of Transport, Michael Woodhouse, in February and he advised us to be involved in all aspects of transport, not just things that were related to used vehicles,” says Vinsen.

That recommendation led IMVIA to appoint Wilkerson after six months of strategic planning and he’ll be in an understudy and support role for Malcolm Yorston in technical services.

The statistician role that was

carried out by John Nicholls for many years is returning in-house and is included in Wilkerson’s role.

“John consulted on a contract basis while retired in Gisborne and he’s nearing his 90th birthday.”

Wilkerson has extensive computer expertise and will assist in communications, and alerts and

content management of the IMVIA website.

After Wilkerson was appointed his interested in artificial intelligence was revealed, which will help the IMVIA to better understand intelligent

traffic management systems and autonomous vehicles.

His qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Linguistics and Computer Science and a Master of Arts in Linguistics from Southern Illinois University.

He came to New Zealand in 2011 to undertake a PhD in Computer Science at AUT, which he is currently working on.

Cars were expensive to purchase with a limited number of models to choose from.

The new car available today is a world apart in terms of quality, features and reliability from those available to New Zealanders back then.

They are also supported by a customer focused dealer network, with legislative backing to ensure consumer protection.

The range of vehicle models available has significantly expanded, and for the size of our market is one of the best in the world per head of population.

Affordability has improved significantly.

If we look at the consumer price index (CPI) of new cars from an index base in March 1994 of 1000, there was a 20 per cent decrease in real car prices.

During the same period the total CPI increased by 55 per cent.

In other words, the price of a new car today is 75 per cent

below the 1994 price – if new cars had grown at the same rate as the total CPI index.

There are other factors affecting our ability to purchase a car such as household incomes, which have tracked up during the past 20 years.

Median household incomes grew 46 per cent in real terms between 1994 and 2009 and in the same period, average net (after tax) ordinary time wages grew 24 per cent in real terms.

The growth in household incomes has meant that since 1988 the number of weeks it took earning the average gross wage to buy a car, with the car adjusted for a constant quality, has been steadily declining.

In 1988 it took 92 weeks to buy that car, by 2007 it only took 35 weeks.

Another feature which has made it easier to purchase a new car is the substantially better access to and affordability of finance.

Minister for the Environment Amy Adams uses the country’s first EV fast-charge station with Northpower's Russell Watson.

David Crawford, chief executive, MIA

10 | www.autofile.co.nz

As Rotorua’s log exports to China grow, the town’s processing plants are

under increasing pressure. Last year Rotorua saw the closure

of Tachikawa Forest Products’ sawmill, with more than 100 jobs axed as a result of the shutdown.

“There has been a huge rationalisation in forestry, a lot of job cuts and consolidation,” says John Clough, dealer principal of Rotorua Kia.

“It’s a significant sector in the local economy and it has considerably reduced from where it was five or 10 years ago.”

China’s expanding economy has driven a surge in the volume and price of New Zealand log exports but Kiwi mills haven’t been able to compete with lower-cost Chinese mills that saw logs for temporary construction timber.

David Wilson, chief executive of Rotorua Toyota, says a string of job losses in the town caused a drop in vehicle sales.

“It’ll always impact when 200 staff lose their jobs, with three major employers in the town

closing down, including a timber mill and a processing company,” Wilson says.

“Some of those staff would have left town to seek employment elsewhere.”

The forestry sector accounts for 14.7 per cent of Rotorua’s gross domestic product (GDP). Tourism makes up 10.5 per cent of its GDP and is the largest employer in the town.

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick believes the town’s growth opportunities are in the

health spa industry, logging and geothermal energy sector.

The Rotorua Sustainable Economic Growth Strategy, noted that while Rotorua had “successfully leveraged its geothermal resources for tourism purposes” relatively little had been done to tap them for energy.

It went on to identify geothermal energy supply as having a “high” potential to generate significant employment growth and economic output in Rotorua.

USED CAR SALES BUOYANTDuring the twelve months between May 2013 and April 2014, Rotorua recorded 941 used car sales, which was a 40.4 per cent increase on the same period in 2013, while used-commercial sales increased by 25 per cent.

The strong market pushed John Clough, dealer principal of Kia Rotorua, to bring in used imports for the first time in fifteen years.

“Because of the lift in the market we needed a steady supply of good quality used vehicles, which we don’t seem to be able to source New Zealand new.”

He is predicting a sales drop ahead of September’s general election.

“We will operate our business in anticipation of that happening, but in the long term we are optimistic.”

He says the Rotorua market has improved, but not as significantly as the rest of the country.

regional report

Rotorua vehicle sales - Mar 2013 to Mar 2014

USEd CArS

NEw CArS

USEd CoMMErCIAlS

NEw CoMMErCIAlS

Apr ‘13 57 106 8 25

May ‘13 88 60 2 41

Jun ‘13 81 50 5 56

Jul ‘13 75 67 12 28

Aug ‘13 60 92 9 53

Sept ‘13 57 133 3 36

Oct ‘13 76 51 5 38

Nov ‘13 87 39 7 47

Dec ‘13 80 51 6 29

Jan ‘14 95 106 12 37

Feb ‘14 78 76 5 29

Mar ‘14 84 97 9 43

Apr ‘14 80 78 10 39

12 month total 941 900 85 476

NZ sales - past 12 months 108,026 85,549 6781 32,488

% of national sales 0.9% 1.1% 1.3% 1.5%

Change on Mar 2013 40.4% -26.4% 25.0% 56.0%

PoPUlAtIoN NEw ZEAlANd rotorUA %

4,524,000 68,900 1.5%

Used car sales for Rotorua - Mar 2013 to Mar 2014

PUblIC to dEAlEr

PUblIC to PUblIC

dEAlEr to PUblIC totAl PUblIC to

dEAlEr %PUblIC to PUblIC %

dEAlEr to PUblIC %

Apr ‘13 260 713 145 1118 23.3% 63.8% 13.0%

May ‘13 265 743 143 1151 23.0% 64.6% 12.4%

Jun ‘13 226 617 129 972 23.3% 63.5% 13.3%

Jul ‘13 281 688 154 1123 25.0% 61.3% 13.7%

Aug ‘13 258 700 129 1087 23.7% 64.4% 11.9%

Sept ‘13 266 581 174 1021 26.1% 56.9% 17.0%

Oct ‘13 262 633 124 1019 25.7% 62.1% 12.2%

Nov ‘13 284 612 141 1037 27.4% 59.0% 13.6%

Dec ‘13 272 645 129 1046 26.0% 61.7% 12.3%

Jan ‘14 272 677 125 1074 25.3% 63.0% 11.6%

Feb ‘14 250 726 130 1106 22.6% 65.6% 11.8%

Mar ‘14 261 670 126 1057 24.7% 63.4% 11.9%

Apr ‘14 228 659 107 994 22.9% 66.3% 10.8%

Annual total 3125 7951 1611 12687 24.6% 62.7% 12.7%

Change on Apr 2013 -12.3% -7.6% -26.2% -11.1%

National Ytd average

18.7% 56.6% 24.7%

“We’ve got a smaller volume of people, so we have to do a better job with aftersales, we don’t have the luxury of a large population.” – David Wilson, Rotorua Toyota.

Steady growth in thermal hubThe iconic Bath House building now houses the Rotorua

Museum, located in the Government Gardens.

www.autofile.co.nz | 11

“The current economy is still very fickle and this far on through the recession one would have expected a stronger lift,” he says.

“We’re seeing the lifts on a much smaller scale. It’s a very challenging local market because we have limited population and we don’t have an overly wealthy local economy.”

He told Autofile the demand for the low-end vehicles had fallen flat.

“The bulk of our sales are the higher-end new cars, or our late model New Zealand new.”

Neville Harper, director of Bay Of Plenty Motors, says his business tends to remain steady, even when the rest of the market is down.

“We have been in business since 1949 and because we do so much repeat business I haven’t really noticed quieter times,” he says. “It has been fairly consistent.”

Harper’s dealership specialises in vehicles priced between $10,000 and $20,000. “Cars you think are going to sell sometimes stay on the yard for a while, you really can’t tell what’s going to sell well.”

Rotorua attracts around 3.2 million visitors per year. More than two million are domestic visitors.

“People have the time to look around while they’re on holiday,” he says. “We’ll often sell a car to someone from Auckland.”

Harper says the biggest change recently has been Turners Auctions’ focus on the retail market.

“We always adapt and evolve and you have to go with the changes in the market,” he says.

With the rise of internet sales

in the past decade, he has noticed the number of dealers with real estate drop.

“Between 2008 and 2010 there were a lot of dealers going out of businesses. The vacant sites have since been redeveloped so the opportunities for new dealerships on those sites are no longer there.”

Harper is not worried about impending mandatory electronic stability control legislation.

“We just adapt and change. It’s good to have these safety features in cars.”

NEW MARKET DOWNMeanwhile, the number of new vehicle sales of 900 between May 2013 and April 2014 is down by 26.4 per cent compared to the previous year.

Michael Meyer, dealer principal of Autohaus Rotorua, says new vehicle sales are on the rise again.

Recent events such as Rotorua Multisport Festival were also the catalyst for some out-of-town sales, he told Autofile.

“We are always going to be bucking the trends, the main centres are up to 50 per cent on what they were last year but that is not the case here. It comes down to location.”

The dealership took on the Ford franchise about six months ago and he says it has been challenging to resurrect the brand in the town.

“There’s great new product on the horizon over the next two years.”

He says finding local people with sales experience is tough.

“Sales staff are not something we look overseas for, we tend to

regional report

choose locals. You get loads of applications, mainly those without experience.

“The main thing you need to do is build a relationship with customers, anyone can learn about cars, but being able to talk to people is quite a hard skill to learn.”

Sales of 476 new commercial vehicles were up by 56 per cent compared to the same period last year.

David Wilson, chief executive of Rotorua Toyota says the growth was leveraged on sales to tradies, farmers and the logging industry.

He says success in Rotorua comes down to an emphasis on customer service.

“We’ve got less people, so we have to do a better job with aftersales, we don’t have the luxury of a large population.”

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TransporTing vehicles half way across The world without a hitch is a challenge few businesses would relish but the opportunities were too good for one Kiwi to pass up.

Back in 2002 John Davies, managing director of Autohub identified the need for a seamless port to door service for New Zealand motor vehicle dealers buying cars from Japan, so was born the first port to door logistics service, Autohub.

“John went to Japan to put all the elements together, when he came back I remember sitting in the office waiting for the phone to ring, not knowing if dealers would like the idea or not,” says Tony Teihuis, customer services manager for Autohub.

“We just didn’t know how it was going to go; looking back it was a no brainer, but at the time it was new and uncharted territory.”

Last year Autohub shipped more than 40,000 cars to New Zealand from various places around the globe, but mostly from Japan, the United Kingdom and Australia. A far cry from 2002 – so what’s the secret?

“In simple terms – it’s keeping customers and the way to keep them is to look after them,” says John.

“Customers’ vehicles must get to New Zealand as soon as possible, in the same condition they bought them in and with as little hassle as possible”.

Autohub understands the need to make shipping painless, simple and reliable.

Of course for this to happen a lot goes on behind the scenes and the experience of Autohub’s staff makes the difference.

Most of the front line people were car dealers and they understand the market and what is required.

There is more than 20 staff employed in New Zealand, about 30 in Japan as well as offices and representation in the United Kingdom and Australia.

To ensure service is always a high priority Autohub recently made some changes to its team.

Keisuke Nagashima joined John, Tony, Joe and Andrea in the management team, and he is learning the industry from start to finish, providing Autohub customers with all the tools they need to have a successful business.

Keisuke has in-depth knowledge of both the New Zealand and Japanese automotive industry and systems and is dedicated to building a strong future for Autohub through excellent customer experiences.

Blair Howard has been appointed New Zealand sales manager.Blair was previously responsible for North Island business

development and has been with Autohub for over six years. “Autohub systems are tight and dependable, which means

dealers are able to rely on us – knowing their vehicle is in good hands and on a dependable regular shipping schedule,” states Blair.

“Our guys in the field are there to support our dealers. The staff at Autohub make sure they understand our clients, they are all excellent at what they do.”

Corey Dick has replaced Blair in the role of North Island business development manager.

Nigel McAuley completes the sales team in his role as South Island / Wellington business development manager.

Corey and Nigel are keen to develop their areas and reinforce the benefits for current and future customers of using Autohub as their preferred shipping service.

“They are good listeners and believe in the customer service ethos we have here, I think they’ll be well received and

represent us well,” says Blair.There are unique services Autohub offers that dealers may

not think about but they make up the overall package. When Autohub receives a car from the agent, they then

deal with MPI (MAF), NZTA and odometer inspection agencies, along with the required paperwork.

A gate in survey is conducted to log the condition of the vehicle, then a ship is organised that will get the customer’s vehicle to New Zealand in the fastest possible time.

When it arrives staff members organise the documentation and transport to wherever the customer wants it to go.

Autohub’s insurance package also ensures the car is covered by a comprehensive policy, not just a marine insurance. This covers the vehicle for damage over $250 whilst in their care.

In addition to a seamless vehicle logistics system, Autohub also rewards clients for their loyalty by providing Autohub Rewards dollars.

Every car a RMVT ships through Autohub, they receive Autohub Rewards points to the retail value of $10. This accumulates until the trader wishes to purchase items from the Autohub Gift suppliers found on the website www.autohub.co.nz/nz/rewardsgifts.html.

“We even purchased an engagement ring for one customer,” says Tony.

“Autohub has sent people on holidays, supplied endless electronics like big screen TV’s – it doesn’t take long to add up.”

With representation everywhere, Autohub and their customers are looking forward to an even bigger year ahead.

SeriouS about Service

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Safety in city proves ‘superior’

transmission (CVT) with manual mode, which is about 10 per cent more efficient than the previous one.

Fuel economy is 8.1l/100km for front-wheel-drive CVT models, while AWD models are rated at 8.3l/100km.

Active technologies include trace control, engine braking and ride control.

Then there’s four-wheel independent suspension, vehicle

dynamic and traction control, and hill-start assist.

The X-Trail is priced from $39,990 for the seven-seat ST 2WD to $53,290 for the Ti 4WD.

Nissan has redesigned its X-Trail for the 2014 model year and, for the first time,

with three-row seating for seven passengers in the ST two-wheel-drive model.

Interior highlights include passenger and cargo flexibility with the marque’s EZ Flex seating system.

The cargo system has 18 adjustable variations on 4WD two-row models between the cargo and occupant areas.

The co-efficient of drag has been reduced by optimising the A-pillar section and outside mirror shapes, which helps limit wind noise.

Turbulence behind the body has been cut thanks to the rear roof spoiler, rear side spoiler and combination lights.

The Ti model’s “moon roof” offers a view through its full cabin length. The front glass panel slides and tilts,

A third 2.5-litre model has been added to Subaru’s Outback range – the

2.5i Tourer.The price-leading variant at

$45,990 lowers the entry level to the medium-sized SUV range from the $49,990 2.5i Sport.

It boasts the same four-cylinder Boxer engine as the other 2.5-litre models with 127kW and 235Nm of torque, and the marque’s Lineartronic transmission with manual mode accessed by paddle shifters.

The 2.5i Tourer sits on 17-inch alloys, has a 213mm minimum ground clearance and is rated to tow 1,500kg.

It’s the only 2.5-litre variant to be equipped with multi-function roof rails and self-levelling rear suspension.

It can be distinguished from the Sport and Premium by the

black body cover under the front and rear bumpers.

The Tourer’s safety features include traction and vehicle dynamics, ABS, reverse camera, seven airbags, anti-intrusion beams and ring-shaped cabin reinforcement.

The Outback is also available in two diesel models with manual or SLT transmission, while a 3.6-litre six-cylinder motor is fitted to the 3.6R and the 3.6 Premium.

“The SUV market is continuing to boom,” says Wallis Dumper, managing director of Subaru NZ.

“We offer a wide range of SUVs. Over the years, we’ve had Legacy owners wanting to make the move to the Outback. People who previously thought they could not afford one can now consider it.”

Made over for extra spacenew cars

Subaru’s 2.5i Tourer

The X-Trail’s Ti model

while the rear one is fixed. When in the open position, the front panel slides under the fixed second panel.

Standard features include a five-inch advanced drive-assist display, USB connection for iPod interface, hands-free Bluetooth with streaming audio and a rear-view monitor.

The X-Trail’s around view monitor with moving object detection system uses four cameras on the front, side and rear to provide a virtual 360-degree view around it.

It has extra selectable split-screen close-ups of the front, rear and curb views to help out in tight spots.

Each X-Trail has a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine rated at 126kw and 226Nm of torque.

It’s matched with an advanced Xtronic continuously variable

Entry level decreasesVolvo’s reputation for

safety was endorsed by the US Insurance

Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) test programme, which rates the performance of systems that prevent front-end collisions.

The S60 and XC60 secured the highest rating of “superior”, with the marque’s City Safety being the only standard low-speed crash system in the test, which included 74 vehicles.

It includes tests on front-to-rear collisions at 20kph and 40kph, with an extra point for vehicles with relevant warning systems.

The S60 and XC60, pictured, are equipped with City Safety, collision warning with auto-brake and pedestrian detection systems, and were among seven models to be rated “superior” in the new test.

Volvo’s low-speed City Safety feature is standard on all new models and most have technologies available that detect, warn and brake automatically to avoid rear ends of other vehicles

– and moving pedestrians and cyclists at higher speeds.

Steve Kenchington, general manager of Volvo Cars NZ, says: “With City Safety standard on Volvos here, excluding the XC90, we’re showing leadership in dealing with frontal-impact accidents and a broader scope of real-life scenarios, including pedestrian and cyclist detection.”

He says the auto-brake system results in fewer accidents and benefits documented by a Highway Loss Data Institute report shows insurance claim frequency dropped by up to 20 per cent.

“Since we introduced City Safety in 2009 on the XC60, the system has been a valuable feature for customers with panel damage down in the one-to-four-year car park,” says Kenchington.

14 | www.autofile.co.nz

NEwS in briefCar makers in Japan back free trade with AustraliaThe Japan Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (JAMA) has backed an agreement reached by its government with Australia on an economic partnership agreement.

Chairman Akio Toyoda says: “The industry is determined to supply – in line with this agreement – a broader range of products and services geared to the needs of consumers, and to contribute to closer economic ties between Japan and Australia.”

Three-quarters of Japanese cars will be freed from Australia’s existing five per cent tariff when the deal is ratified by each country’s government, while the rest of the vehicles will be tariff-free after three years.

The tariff has protected Australia’s vehicle-making sector, which will be gone in three years’ time. The government there is predicting retail purchase prices should drop by about $1,500 on average.

JAMA hopes the agreement will accelerate the progress of Trans-Pacific Partnership and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership talks covering East Asia, as well as talks on other free-trade agreements.

Hybrid sports car beamed up with technologyBMW will be the first marque to offer a production vehicle with headlamps featuring a new laser-light concept that appeared at Frankfurt Motor Show in 2011.

While the basic version of the i8 – the world’s first plug-in hybrid sports car that goes on sale later this year – is equipped with high-intensity and energy-efficient LED headlamps, the optional laser ensures a high-beam range of up to 600 metres. This doubles the LED’s high-beam range and boosts energy efficiency by 30 per cent.

The laser diodes are 10 times smaller than conventional ones, and save space and weight inside the headlamp. The height of the reflector has reduced from 9cm to less than 3cm.

Several high-performance diodes emit a strongly bundled beam via lenses onto a fluorescent phosphorus substance inside the headlamp.

In conjunction with the digital high-beam assistant, BMW says dazzling oncoming vehicles is eliminated.

Minister outlines progress made on road safetyMichael Woodhouse, Associate Minister of Transport, has outlined progress in improving road safety in parliament.

He says Safer Journeys’ measures have included increasing the driving age, lowering blood-alcohol levels for under-20s and repeat offenders to zero, and changing the give-way rule.

“The road toll for 2013 was 254, the lowest in more than 60 years,” says Woodhouse.

“Although this number is too high, it was 34 per cent lower than four years ago. It’s pleasing 15 to 24-year-olds have a 37 per cent lower road toll than four years ago.”

Association’s dates for annual general meetingsThe Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association has given notice of its annual meetings for this year.

The AGM for the South Island branch takes place in Christchurch on May 28. The North Island branch meeting is on May 29 in Auckland, with the national AGM to follow.

Log onto www.imvia.co.nz for venues, times, agendas, minutes of the 2013 AGM and the chief executive’s annual report.

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Emissions from vehicle exhausts and methane from cows have contributed to driving up New Zealand’s greenhouse gas levels by 25 per cent over the past two decades.

Greenhouse gas emissions went up by 15,406 gigagrams to 76,048 in 2012, according to reports released by the Ministry for the Environment.

“The four emission sources that contributed the most to this increase were dairy enteric fermentation, road transport, agricultural soils and consumption of hydrofluorcarbons,” officials state.

Tim Groser, Minister for Climate Change Issues, is adamant this country will meet its Kyoto Protocol targets and have a surplus of credits.

He says: “New Zealand is committed to doing its fair share and has an unconditional commitment to reduce emissions to five per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.”

Visit www.autofile.co.nz for the full story.

row over emissions

miles motor groupPAUL CURIN 0274 333 303 pcurin@miles.co.nz

Mercedes BenzVolkswagen

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VEHICLES WANTED

We are always looking to purchase late model NZ NEW CARS AND COMMERCIALS

www.autofile.co.nz | 15

new cars

The all-new EcoSport, which Ford says combines the agility, affordability and fuel

efficiency of a compact with an SUV’s versatility, has arrived in this country.

The marque believes its high driving position, easy manoeuvrability and smart features mean it’s suitable for city streets and rural roads.

The EcoSport’s driver-assist systems include hill-launch assist, dynamic stability control and ABS.

The in-car connectivity system, Ford SYNC, is standard on the Trend and Titanium variants, and enables drivers to use voice commands to select tunes and make phone calls.

The cabin has 20 storage spaces, including a glove box that can keep up to six drinks cans cool. With the rear seats tumbled against the front

The Ti-VCT creates a broadened torque curve, which allows the intake valve to be advanced for instant power at low speeds. At high speeds, the intake cam is retarded and higher airflows are available.

The engine is mated to Ford’s

seats, cargo space jumps to 705 litres and they can be split 60-40.

The 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine has twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT), and delivers peak power of 82kW at 6,300rpm and torque of 142Nm at 4,400rpm.

The all-new Sonata will be launched in New Zealand later this year, with the

marque focusing on better performance and safety.

Hyundai has increased the use of advanced high-strength steel, which is twice as ridged and 10 per cent lighter than regular steel.

This has increased torsional and bending stiffness by more than 40 per cent than its predecessor.

The all-new Sonata is the marque’s second model to adopt its “Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 for a more premium look”.

The Genesis, which made its world debut in November, was the first model based on this design philosophy.

A single-frame hexagonal grille, refined side lines and rear

design work create “a dynamic line from the hood to trunk” and a sportier image, while the longer wheelbase maximises cabin space.

Connection in the car’s frame has been strengthened by increasing the use of structure adhesive by more than 10 times and adding dual-member structures in body’s main parts.

More hot-stamping components are used and the double-section structure on the B-pillar boosts crash-test safety.

The controls are more intuitive and comfort has improved with a more ergonomic cushion design.

Kiwi specifications and pricing will be announced closer to the launch in the second half of this year.

PowerShift six-speed automatic transmission for 6.5l/100km.

The marque spent 18 months shaping the car’s body to create a drag co-efficient of 0.365.

Aerodynamic features include a rise at the end of the

hood to eliminate turbulent air, the front being built into the bumper to avoid air recirculation and improve airflow underneath, and a raked A-pillar and tilted side

mirrors.The EcoSport’s compact

size and electric power-assisted steering with pull-drift compensation assist with parking in tight spaces or making u-turns. Ground clearance is 20cm, while it can wade through 55cm of water.

The recommended retail price for the Trend is $29,990 and $32,990 for the Titanium, including GST.

Country driving around town

Singing with design

Ford’s new EcoSport Titanium

16 | www.autofile.co.nz

Steering rule unfair to ex-pats

the IMvIA technical report is proudly brought to you by leading certifi cation service provider, vINZ

from the trade and for the trade

produced as LHD.Category B applies

to light vehicles in classes MA, MB, MC or NA that are more than 20 years old.

Category C covers specialist vehicles including those with dual steering columns and controls, purpose-built hearses, class MA and MC motorsport vehicles and specialist ones that are impractical to convert into right-hand drive.

Specialist units used principally as mobile cranes are also included in category C, as are vehicles operating on self-laying tracks, agricultural tractors, self-propelled harvesting machines and earth-moving vehicles.

Category D covers vehicles operated by diplomats, category E is for those exempt from registration and licensing, former Crown vehicles are covered in

There are inequities in the steering systems rule for immigrants’ vehicles,

including returning ex-pats bringing their cars into New Zealand in left-hand-drive (LHD) configuration.

When you look at the exhaust emissions and frontal-impact rules, there are provisions in both for vehicles belonging to new migrants and Kiwis coming home.

These permit qualifying vehicles in MA, MB, MC and NA classes to be certified for registration while being non-compliant with the rule, but there’s no such provision in the steering systems rule.

In category A, the steering systems rule permits special-interest light vehicles less than 20 years old, MA vehicles made in numbers of less than 20,000 in the year of manufacture, be that a coupe, convertible or high-performance car and only

tech report

steering systems rule as well.The steering systems rule should

have similar provisions allowing LHD MA, MB, MC and NA class vehicles to be imported by qualifying immigrants and ex-pats, and for them to gain registration here.

I recently supported the application of a Kiwi returning from playing rugby in Japan and requested the director of the NZTA to permit him to have his LHD Ford Explorer registered in New Zealand without having to convert it to right-hand drive.

Although this is a utility, when applying the test in table A of “classes of a goods vehicle” in the Vehicle Standards Compliance Rule, it is a passenger vehicle because its payload is 344kg.

It also has five seats, so the passenger loading at 68kg per person is 340kg leaving 4kg for goods. This means passenger capacity is well in excess of 50 per cent as given in table A of the rule.

category F and category G is for motorcycles with sidecars.

A genuine immigrant or ex-pat is discriminated against by this rule, whereas the intent of the emissions and frontal-impact rules is to enable these two groups of people to

bring their cars with them when coming to New Zealand.

As it stands, it is unconscionable that immigrants and returning ex-pats are unable to have their family cars registered for use on these shores for the only reason being they are LHD.

This is especially the case when there are provisions for other categories of vehicles to be registered – and the emissions and frontal-impact rules do provide for them.

The intent of these rules should have been applied to the

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Crunching numbers on old vansIn a recent column in Autofile, Malcolm Yorston wondered how many Toyota Hiaces have mileages with seven digits and are still in New Zealand’s fleet.

According to the Ministry of Transport, there are 46 on the vehicle fleet register with more than one million kilometres on their clocks but only 26 appear to be in current use.

There are another 32 with odometer readings between 750,000km and 1,000,000km.

www.autofile.co.nz | 17

Creating security with products that protected the hard-earned investments

of everyday people was always the ultimate goal of a Kiwi-owned insurance innovator.

Protecta Insurance New Zealand Ltd was incorporated in 1986 to provide consumer insurance products to the motor industry as it moved into an exciting new era.

The business, started by managing director, Stephen Glading, strived to be the industry leader, and looking after its customers and their best interests always remained imperative.

Until recently Protecta was the only consumer insurance provider member in the Financial Services Federation (FSF), with their membership dating back to 2003.

As a member of FSF, Protecta ensured the automobile industry and especially dealers and finance companies, have an insurance voice within the organisation.

“It is essential to be fully informed of any potential changes that may affect the industry and our customers,” says Glading.

“For years Protecta has represented the industry with best intentions of all stakeholders at heart and have continued to lobby directly to government ministers as well as through our membership of the FSF.”

The Credit Contracts and Financial Services Law Reform Bill was reported to the industry towards the end of March.

Protecta is committed to making the government and other affected parties aware of the shortcomings in the new act where it disadvantages dealers and finance companies, and wrote directly to the Minister of Commerce and

Consumer Affairs, Craig Foss.Representation was made to

other influential ministers in an effort to overturn what Protecta believed – was a ridiculous law change.

The major concern affecting dealers and finance companies was the removal of commission from warranty, motor vehicle insurance, guaranteed asset protection insurance and consumer credit insurance.

“Lyn McMorran, FSF executive director, was a great help to the motor industry, as well as finance and

insurance companies – representing our interests in this issue.

“Lyn aimed for a successful outcome for the responsible credit providers, who should continue to receive a reasonable commission for the much-needed

protection provided to the borrower,” says Glading.

Today, Protecta witnesses continually evolving legislative changes that affect the whole industry, which result in additional costs of compliance.

Through the changes the Protecta team is regularly trained and up-skilled as the company has become a financial services provider.

Due to ongoing requirements, Protecta now has advisers within the team and invested in a dedicated trainer and business coach to support the national sales team.

“Our customers take advantage of the knowledge that Protecta gains and can train business managers to maximise and increase their profit potential.

“Protecta also continually invests in our online policy quoting and purchase system as well as our friendly and professional customer service team with an increase in staff members to handle the growth in our business.”

Specialist training is helping our motor dealers to achieve

longer term sales targets.

We’re raising the bar...

contact: erin Mills from Protecta insurance

Phone: 021 807 148 email: erin.mills@protecta.co.nz

Find out more today.

Industry voice gives guidance

f & i stats

18%  

12%  

19%  

10%  

48%  

22%  

33%  

18%  

46%  

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 55%

Fina

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ent

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P In

sura

nce

MBI

New  

Used  

Best result $ 1,175Worst result $ 455

PROTECTA Nationwide F & I resultsApril 2014

Stephen Glading, managing director

18 | www.autofile.co.nz

BackgroundTracey Roberts bought a 2009 Volkswagen Polo from Vision Auto Sales Ltd on September 25, 2013.

She claimed the dealer or its agents damaged the bonnet. She claimed $951 for repairs and $305 for a post-purchase inspection and work.

The trader denied the car was damaged in its care.

The caseThe dealer obtained a vehicle appraisal the day prior to sale. It recorded the odometer on 29,623km and it being in above-average condition.

Around October 21, it was involved in an accident that damaged the driver’s door.

Warkworth Collision Repairs discovered it had previously been in a crash that damaged the front bumper and right-front headlight.

It said repairs had been poorly done. There were cracks in the radiator assembly support, and broken parts had been plastic welded and glued together.

The headlight’s support had been broken off and it was held in place with duct tape.

Photos were taken and supplied to the trader with a quote on October 30. The dealer agreed to have the work done, collect the vehicle and supply a loan car.

On November 6, Roberts’ husband told the trader it was available and it was collected by Exclusive Towing the next day.

The dealer had the car in its care until November 12 when it sent it to Liberty Auto Painting.

Mr W Reid, sales and administration officer for the trader, was unsure why it went there. He

didn’t provide the invoice and didn’t obtain a copy.

Before starting work, the repairer advised Reid there were marks on the bonnet but the buyer was notified about them.

He assumed Mr Roberts was aware of the marks, which had been poorly pencil touched before an attempt was made to cut and polish them.

The headlight was replaced with one from another car on the trader’s premises.

On November 18, Mr Roberts noticed seven marks on the bonnet and the largest was the size of a $2 coin.

He spoke to a Geoff Ingram, who worked for the trader, who knew nothing about them and said he would have to speak to Reid.

Two days later, Reid denied responsibility for the marks and claimed they must have been there when the car was collected from Warkworth Collision Repairs.

Mr Roberts went to Warkworth Collision Repairs, which was adamant the marks weren’t there when the vehicle was collected. It had a photographic record from when it received the car.

Mr Roberts emailed the trader. He concluded: “I cannot understand why your staff or panelbeaters wouldn’t consider it necessary to contact the owner to advise there’s damage before starting work.

“The fact I wasn’t informed and only discovered it when I came to collect the vehicle – accompanied with the fact the damage has had an attempt at concealment – leaves me no choice but to consider the blame lies in your operation.”

Mr Roberts received no response and on November 27 took the

vehicle to Silverdale Car Services for a post-purchase check.

Its report listed “unusual marks on the top side of the bonnet. It appears someone has rubbed”.

It reported the headlamp had an internal fault and the level adjuster wasn’t working, and replaced two bulbs, removed a door panel to secure a detached window switch and unjammed a safety belt.

The buyer filed her application on December 16. The dealer made no attempt to contact her to try to mediate the dispute.

On January 22, Warkworth Collision Repairs repaired the bonnet and replaced the headlight.

The findingThe tribunal considered a reasonable person paying $13,995 for a low-mileage and four-year-old car would expect it to be free of minor faults.

It wasn’t, had been previously been in an accident and had been poorly repaired.

Section 18 of the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) states that when a failure to comply with a guarantee can be remedied, the buyer must require the supplier to do so within a reasonable time.

If the trader fails to do so, the consumer may have it remedied elsewhere and obtain reasonable costs.

The tribunal was satisfied the buyer required the dealer to fix the faulty headlight, but it failed to do so.

Regarding damage to the bonnet, it considered Mr Roberts to be “the more credible witness”.

The tribunal thought the marks probably happened in the care of

The case: A car was returned

to the trader to repair a headlight

during which the buyer claimed

the dealer or its agents damaged

the bonnet. She wanted to

recover $951 for repairs and $305

for a post-purchase inspection.

The decision: It was ruled

post-purchase check should be

paid by the purchaser, but the

tribunal was satisfied the dealer

should reimburse the buyer for

the headlamp and bonnet.

At: The Motor Vehicle Disputes

Tribunal, Auckland.

the trader, its transporter or repairer. It thought if the damage

occurred before the car went to have the door repaired, that would have been obvious to Mr Roberts and Warkworth Collision Repairs – and would probably have been seen in the latter’s photos of the vehicle.

There was no need for Warkworth Collision Repairs, if the vehicle was damaged in its care, to lie about that because it could have cheaply repainted the bonnet.

The tribunal agreed that if the bonnet was damaged before the car went back to the trader on November 7, it was hard to understand why nobody from the dealer told Mr Roberts it had been received damaged.

The tribunal thought the bonnet was probably damaged while the vehicle was with the trader and someone working there tried to cover up the marks before it went to Liberty Auto Painting.

It ruled against a $305 refund to the buyer for the check and repairs done by Silverdale Car Services because the dealer hadn’t been required to do that work.

But the tribunal was satisfied the trader should reimburse the buyer for the headlamp and bonnet.

OrderThe dealer had to pay the buyer $986 immediately.

Tribunal rules damage to car’s bonnet was probably done at dealer’s premises

disputes

5500  

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10000  

Jan   Feb   Mar   Apr   May   Jun   Jul   Aug   Sep   Oct   Nov   Dec  

2013  

2012  

17%  

12%  

13%  

9%  

41%  

14%  

22%  

16%  

43%  

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 55%

Fina

nce

Paym

ent

prot

ectio

n GA

P In

sura

nce

MBI

New  

Used  

Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne Napier New Plymouth Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne

Napier New Plymouth Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Westport Christchurch Timaru Oamaru Dunedin

Invercargill Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne Napier New Plymouth

Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua

Ar

ou

n d t h e c ou nt

ry

20 | www.autofile.co.nz

0800 7000 44autoport.netwww.

UK, Japanese and local vehicles.Finance available.

The TRUSTED online wholesale trading site.

PHONE 0800 ARMACUP (276 2287) or 09 303 3314EMAIL enquiries@armacup.com

www.armacup.com

YOUR FIRST CHOICE IN SHIPPING

TWO SAILINGS PER MONTH JAPAN TO NZ

Port Calls Hoegh Xiamen V20

Sepang Express V9

Morning Miracle V5

Liberty V1

Osaka 20 Oct 30 Oct 15 Nov 29 Nov Nagoya 21 Oct 31 Oct 16 Nov 30 Nov Yokohama 22 Oct 1 Nov 17 Nov 1 Dec Auckland 7 Nov 17 Nov 4 Dec 19 Dec Wellington 13 Nov 23 Nov 11 Dec 26 Dec Lyttelton 16 Nov 29 Nov 11 Dec 29 Dec

LATEST SCHEDULE

PORT TO DOOR SERVICEINCLUDING: MPI Border inspection Odometer certifi cation Digital Photography for prior sales in NZ NZ Customs clearance Delivery Nationwide Insurance

GENEROUS REWARDS PROGRAMMEShip your motor vehicles on Armacup vessels and you can earn seamiles points for air travel (only applicable to used imports)

Biggest increases/Decreases By town year-on-year

(OctOber 2013 vs OctOber 2012)

Biggest increases new Used

westport  100.0% Blenheim  95.5% thames  51.2% nelson  64.9% napier  34.1% rotorua  52.0%

Biggest decreases new Used

wanganui  27.7% westport  41.7% gisborne  26.8% Masterton  20.0% timaru  23.7% timaru  12.4%

7000

6000

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13

Oct

‘13

Used

New7962

8545

1805

6740

Used Vehicle RegistRatiOnsNorth IslaNd versus south IslaNd

PassengeR Vehicle RegistRatiOnsNew versus used

Vehi

cles

sol

d

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3000

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0

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Auckland

Wellington

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cles

sol

d

600

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100

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SEP ‘

13

Oct

‘13

Hamilton

Tauranga

Palmerston Nth

DunedinChristchurch

4320

495

1185

290

729

229

216

aucklaNd, wellINgtoN, chrIstchurch hamIltoN, tauraNga, duNedIN, PalmerstoN North

Used imPORt PassengeR Vehicle RegistRatiOns by city

october 2013

autoport.net

The TRUSTED online wholesale trading site.

Subscribe - FREEgo to www.autofi le.co.nz/subscribe for the latest industry newsCONNECT & ENGAGE

BackgroundEmir Etehadian bought a 2007 Nissan Vanette from Glenfield Wholesale Ltd, trading as Real Wholesale Cars, for $13,650, which included a three-year mechanical breakdown insurance policy.

He filed an application against the dealer last year for the cost of a tyre, which bulged soon after he purchased the vehicle on March 2, when it had travelled 95,133km.

Etehadian claimed the trader promised to refund him the cost but failed to do so. That matter was resolved when he accepted $500 from the dealer and the tribunal made a consent order.

He then claimed the van had serious faults because its fuel injectors and suction control valve needed replacing at a cost of $4,531.

Etehadian rejected the vehicle under the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) on the basis the failure was substantial and he wanted a refund of the purchase price.

The trader said the buyer wasn’t entitled to reject because he hadn’t shown those components needed to be replaced.

The dealer had offered and remained willing to repair the van at no cost to Etehadian.

The caseThe buyer had a lubrication service done by Grimmer Motors Ltd on March 5, 2013, at 95,350km.

It checked the fuel filter and lines but replaced none, which the tribunal thought was unusual given the vehicle’s lack of a service history.

The buyer said the van became hard to start in the mornings during September, idled poorly and misfired.

He took it to Grimmer Motors

on September 30 when its odometer was on 100,935km.

The invoice stated: “Check for cause of rough idle when cold. Test glow plug. Check and clean out throttle body. It appears to be an injector fault.”

On October 30, Etehadian took the van to Turbo & Diesel Specialists (Hamilton) Ltd.

It suspected problems with the injectors and suction control valve, and said they needed to be replaced to see how the vehicle ran.

It supplied a written quotation of $4,531 for four injectors, a suction control valve, labour scanning and sundries.

The buyer had Hamilton District Community Law Centre write to the trader on November 5 informing it of the faults and the quote.

The letter claimed the vehicle wasn’t of acceptable quality and the faults were “serious”.

The trader was told the buyer wanted to reject it and was willing to negotiate the refund of the purchase price.

The letter asked for a reply within 14 days but he received no response, so Etehadian filed with the tribunal on December 19.

Mr T Sarandov, sales manager, said the trader contacted the buyer “in November or December” and offered to repair the van.

But it received an email on January 13, 2014, from Hamilton Community Law Centre saying Etehadian sought to reject the vehicle and if the trader agreed to rejection to get in contact, otherwise the trader should stop contacting the buyer.

The tribunal sent a written request to Etehadian before the hearing asking him to obtain from

Turbo & Diesel a report as to what tests had been done – with a copy of the results – to determine if new injector valves were required.

It also asked it confirm the van’s odometer reading.

Etehadian said he didn’t comply with that request because he believed the quote was sufficient. He said the vehicle had travelled 6,371km since purchase.

The findingThe tribunal – in deciding if the vehicle was as durable as a reasonable consumer would regard as acceptable for a 2007 van sold for $13,650 after 95,133km – considered if properly maintained it should go for another 6,370km over six months without major repairs.

Accordingly, it decided the van was probably not of acceptable quality within the meaning of section six of the CGA.

Section 21 defines circumstances in which a failure to comply with the guarantee of acceptable quality are regarded as being of substantial character.

The buyer produced two invoices and a quote to support his claim the failure was substantial.

The first one stated the cause of the rough idle when cold “appeared to be an injector fault”.

The second referred to “limited live data” and suspected faulty injectors and suction control valve, but Turbo & Diesel failed to provide reasons.

Its quote for the injectors and valve was merely a quotation because it contained no test results or technical information to support its suspicions.

The tribunal, on its assessor’s

The case: The buyer claimed

his Nissan Vanette had serious

faults because its fuel injectors

and suction control valve needed

replacing at a cost of $4,531. He

rejected the van on the grounds

these were failures of substantial

character.

The decision: The tribunal

was unable to rule that the faults

amounted to substantial failures

because the purchaser failed to

prove that was the case to the

standard of proof required.

At: The Motor Vehicle Disputes

Tribunal, Auckland.

advice, understood injector failure was relatively rare in a six-year-old diesel vehicle that had travelled only 101,000km.

It also understood injectors may be damaged by water or impurities in diesel fuel, or damaged by a failure to change the fuel filters regularly.

However, in the absence of test results – which the buyer could have obtained from a specialist – the tribunal was unable to rule the injectors were faulty or the control valve needed replacing.

The poor idle when cold, of which Etehadian complained, could have been caused by other factors.

The tribunal was unable to make a finding that the faults were of substantial failure because the buyer didn’t prove that was the case to the standard of proof required.

That was namely a balance of probabilities or “more likely than not” that the idle problem was due to damaged injectors and or a faulty suction control valve.

OrdersThe buyer’s application to reject the Nissan Vanette was dismissed. The trader was ordered to arrange its uplift from Hamilton and to provide the purchaser with a loan car while it repaired his vehicle at the dealer’s own cost.

Owner of van fails to reach standard of proof required with faulty engine

disputes

5500  

6000  

6500  

7000  

7500  

8000  

8500  

9000  

9500  

10000  

Jan   Feb   Mar   Apr   May   Jun   Jul   Aug   Sep   Oct   Nov   Dec  

2013  

2012  

17%  

12%  

13%  

9%  

41%  

14%  

22%  

16%  

43%  

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 55%

Fina

nce

Paym

ent

prot

ectio

n GA

P In

sura

nce

MBI

New  

Used  

Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne Napier New Plymouth Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne

Napier New Plymouth Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Westport Christchurch Timaru Oamaru Dunedin

Invercargill Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne Napier New Plymouth

Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua

Ar

ou

n d t h e c ou nt

ry

20 | www.autofile.co.nz

0800 7000 44autoport.netwww.

UK, Japanese and local vehicles.Finance available.

The TRUSTED online wholesale trading site.

PHONE 0800 ARMACUP (276 2287) or 09 303 3314EMAIL enquiries@armacup.com

www.armacup.com

YOUR FIRST CHOICE IN SHIPPING

TWO SAILINGS PER MONTH JAPAN TO NZ

Port Calls Hoegh Xiamen V20

Sepang Express V9

Morning Miracle V5

Liberty V1

Osaka 20 Oct 30 Oct 15 Nov 29 Nov Nagoya 21 Oct 31 Oct 16 Nov 30 Nov Yokohama 22 Oct 1 Nov 17 Nov 1 Dec Auckland 7 Nov 17 Nov 4 Dec 19 Dec Wellington 13 Nov 23 Nov 11 Dec 26 Dec Lyttelton 16 Nov 29 Nov 11 Dec 29 Dec

LATEST SCHEDULE

PORT TO DOOR SERVICEINCLUDING: MPI Border inspection Odometer certifi cation Digital Photography for prior sales in NZ NZ Customs clearance Delivery Nationwide Insurance

GENEROUS REWARDS PROGRAMMEShip your motor vehicles on Armacup vessels and you can earn seamiles points for air travel (only applicable to used imports)

Biggest increases/Decreases By town year-on-year

(OctOber 2013 vs OctOber 2012)

Biggest increases new Used

westport  100.0% Blenheim  95.5% thames  51.2% nelson  64.9% napier  34.1% rotorua  52.0%

Biggest decreases new Used

wanganui  27.7% westport  41.7% gisborne  26.8% Masterton  20.0% timaru  23.7% timaru  12.4%

7000

6000

5000

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Oct

‘13

Used

New7962

8545

1805

6740

Used Vehicle RegistRatiOnsNorth IslaNd versus south IslaNd

PassengeR Vehicle RegistRatiOnsNew versus used

Vehi

cles

sol

d

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cles

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JuN

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JuL

‘13

AuG

‘13

SEP ‘

13

Oct

‘13

Hamilton

Tauranga

Palmerston Nth

DunedinChristchurch

4320

495

1185

290

729

229

216

aucklaNd, wellINgtoN, chrIstchurch hamIltoN, tauraNga, duNedIN, PalmerstoN North

Used imPORt PassengeR Vehicle RegistRatiOns by city

october 2013

autoport.net

The TRUSTED online wholesale trading site.

Subscribe - FREEgo to www.autofi le.co.nz/subscribe for the latest industry newsCONNECT & ENGAGE

Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne Napier New Plymouth Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne

Napier New Plymouth Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Westport Christchurch Timaru Oamaru Dunedin

Invercargill Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne Napier New Plymouth

Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua

AR

ou

n d T h e c ou nt

Ry

April 2014

20 | www.autofile.co.nz

PHONE 0800 ARMACUP (276 2287) or 09 303 3314EMAIL enquiries@armacup.com

www.armacup.com

YOUR FIRST CHOICE IN SHIPPING

TWO SAILINGS PER MONTH JAPAN TO NZ

Port CallsMorning Miracle

V9Liberty

V5Sepang Express

V14Morning Miracle

V10

Osaka 18 May 2 Jun 16 Jun 2 Jul

Nagoya 19 May 3 Jun 17 Jun 4 Jul

Yokohama 20 May 4 Jun 18 Jun 5 Jul

Auckland 6 Jun 20 Jun 6 Jul 21 Jul

Wellington 11 Jun 29 Jun 14 Jul 27 Jul

Lyttelton 9 Jun 27 Jun 9 Jul 25 Jul

LATEST SCHEDULE

PORT TO DOOR SERVICEINCLUDING:

NZ Customs clearance Odometer certifi cation Delivery Nationwide

MPI Border inspection Insurance

Digital Photography for prior sales in NZ

0800 7000 44autoport.netwww.

UK, Japanese and local vehicles.Finance available.

The TRUSTED online wholesale trading site.

Biggest increases/Decreases By town year-on-year (April 2014 vs April 2013)

Biggest increases new Used

gisborne  46.2% gisborne  93.3% timaru  36.7% nelson  76.6% westport  33.3% greymouth  71.4%

Biggest decreases new Used

rotorua  26.4% no decreases of used salesBlenheim  22.0% napier  16.9%

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

APr

‘13

MAy

‘13

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‘13

JuL

‘13

AuG

‘13

SeP ‘

13

Oct ‘

13

nOv

‘13

Dec

‘13

JAn

‘14

Feb

‘14

Apr

‘14

North Island

South Island

10000

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8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

APr

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MAy

‘13

Jun

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J uL

‘13

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‘13

SeP ‘

13

Oct ‘

13

nOv

‘13

Dec

‘13

JAn

‘14

Feb

‘14

Apr

‘14

Used

New6150

9501

2005

7496

Used Vehicle registrAtionsNorth IslaNd versus south IslaNd

pAssenger Vehicle registrAtionsNew versus used

5000

Vehi

cles

sol

d

4500

4000

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0

APr

‘13

MAy

‘13

Jun

‘13

JuL

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‘13

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13

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13

nOv

‘13

Dec

‘13

JAn

‘14

Feb

‘14

Apr

‘14

Auckland

Wellington

Vehi

cles

sol

d

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

APr

‘13

MAy

‘13

Jun

‘13

JuL

‘13

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‘13

SeP ‘

13

Oct ‘

13

nOv

‘13

Dec

‘13

JAn

‘14

Feb

‘14

Apr

‘14Hamilton

Tauranga

Palmerston North

Dunedin

Christchurch

4739 610

1262

370

726

230255

aucklaNd, wellINgtoN, chrIstchurch hamIltoN, tauraNga, duNedIN, PalmerstoN North Used import pAssenger Vehicle registrAtions by city

autoport.net

The TRUSTED online wholesale trading site.

www.autofile.co.nz | 21

PHONE 0800 ARMACUP (276 2287) or 09 303 3314EMAIL enquiries@armacup.com

www.armacup.com

YOUR FIRST CHOICE IN SHIPPING

TWO SAILINGS PER MONTH JAPAN TO NZ

Port CallsMorning Miracle

V9Liberty

V5Sepang Express

V14Morning Miracle

V10

Osaka 18 May 2 Jun 16 Jun 2 Jul

Nagoya 19 May 3 Jun 17 Jun 4 Jul

Yokohama 20 May 4 Jun 18 Jun 5 Jul

Auckland 6 Jun 20 Jun 6 Jul 21 Jul

Wellington 11 Jun 29 Jun 14 Jul 27 Jul

Lyttelton 9 Jun 27 Jun 9 Jul 25 Jul

LATEST SCHEDULE

PORT TO DOOR SERVICEINCLUDING:

NZ Customs clearance Odometer certifi cation Delivery Nationwide

MPI Border inspection Insurance

Digital Photography for prior sales in NZ

22 | www.autofile.co.nz

Australian imports continue to build The number of used

passenger vehicles crossing the border remained high

last month bringing the year-to-date total to 42,724.

There were 13,109 units imported in April – 1,851 or 16 per cent more than March’s total of 11,258.

April’s figure also increased compared to the same month last year by 4,257 vehicles, a massive 48 per cent.

Imports from Japan accounted for 95.7 per cent of the total with 12,548 units, followed by Australia on 266 and the United Kingdom on 151.

Australia appears to have replaced the United Kingdom as New Zealand’s second option for supply of imported cars.

Year-to-date, Australia accounted for 2.3 per cent of the total units imported, up from 1.8 per

cent for the same period last year. Great Britain’s share of the

year-to-date market reduced from 2.8 per cent in 2013 to 1.5 per cent during the same period this year.

Roger Patterson, a director of Henshaw Quality Cars in Timaru, believes the used import industry in New Zealand will have to face some big issues if and when border controls are lifted in Australia.

Patterson is concerned about availability of stock if Australia competes with New Zealand dealers in the Japanese market.

He believes increased demand is bound to happen if the Australian government relaxes its ban on the high-volume importation of used vehicles as domestic car manufacturing comes to an end in the lucky country in a few years’ time.

“The Australians could be

purchasing 10 times more than us,” he told Autofile.

“When they get their legislation in order, they may well end up copying what we did in the past.

“This could put pricing pressure on dealers here and it will be another interesting chapter for the industry.”

Patterson says the dealership’s turnover last year was its highest since he started in the industry 39 years ago.

He had no trouble importing stock and has been dealing with the same import company for more than 15 years.

John Cameron, owner of Hutt Wholesale Cars says a lot of dealers are borrowing money to import vehicles.

“They haven’t got money behind them and they’re locked

into selling the vehicle just for cash flow,” he says.

He says new vehicles are proving to be increasingly competitive against used imports.

“The prices are so much closer now, you can get a brand new Suzuki Swift for $20,000 and they’ll often cut that price as well as a finance deal – years ago they would never take a dollar off the price,” Cameron says.

“They’re lucky to make $500 from the car now.”

Meanwhile, used commercials continued to track upwards last month with 468 being imported, of which 394 were less than 3,500kg.

It was the highest month of the year and the best total since November 2013 when there were 510 imports. The year-to-date total is 1,533 units.

www.heiwa-auto.co.nz

Used iMpoRt passengeR vehicle aRRivals

RELIABLE. Servicing New Zealand for 20 years

Reece McKerrowPh: 021 988 727

Greg Bardsley Ph: 0279 363 595

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13000

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JAn Feb MAr APr MAy Jun JuL AuG SePt Oct nOv Dec

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Used import passenger vehicles By country of export CoUNtrY oF ExPort

2014 2013 2012JAN ’14 FEb ’14 MAr ’14 APr ’14 APrIl ShArE % 2014 totAl Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2013 totAl Mrkt ShArE 2012 totAl % totAl

Australia 208 266 239 266 2.0% 979 385 464 503 638 1990 1.9% 1199 1.6%

Great Britain 209 138 142 151 1.2% 639 664 716 737 791 2908 2.7% 2730 3.7%

Japan 8268 8597 10697 12548 95.7% 40110 20148 27869 23072 29695 100784 93.9% 67442 92.6%

Singapore 15 19 19 29 0.2% 82 31 26 41 48 146 0.1% 154 0.2%

USA 82 60 149 104 0.8% 394 266 248 307 384 1205 1.1% 976 1.3%

Other countries 27 20 12 11 0.1% 70 65 64 63 59 251 0.2% 336 0.5%

total 8809 9100 11258 13109 100.0% 42274 21559 29387 24723 31615 107284 100.0% 72837 100.0%

www.autofile.co.nz | 23

bread and butter stock sells

secondhand caR sales - april 2014

dEAlEr-to-PUblIC PUblIC-to-PUblIC PUblIC-to-dEAlErAPr '14 APr '13 +/- % MArkEt ShArE APr '14 APr '13 +/- % APr '14 APr '13 +/- %

Whangarei 492 526 -6.5 3.19 1675 1603 4.5 248 299 -17.1

Auckland 5092 5329 -4.4 33.02 12808 13204 -3.0 4372 4221 3.6

Hamilton 1262 1361 -7.3 8.18 2959 2898 2.1 1110 1295 -14.3

Thames 181 185 -2.2 1.17 494 413 19.6 88 86 2.3

Tauranga 802 782 2.6 5.20 1848 1985 -6.9 600 581 3.3

Rotorua 228 260 -12.3 1.48 659 713 -7.6 107 145 -26.2

Gisborne 151 173 -12.7 0.98 345 343 0.6 86 104 -17.3

Napier 509 550 -7.5 3.30 1326 1328 -0.2 365 441 -17.2

New Plymouth 423 402 5.2 2.74 922 963 -4.3 259 280 -7.5

Wanganui 173 174 -0.6 1.12 432 433 -0.2 120 159 -24.5

Palmerston North 705 761 -7.4 4.57 1455 1523 -4.5 904 1098 -17.7

Masterton 169 164 3.0 1.10 322 334 -3.6 100 109 -8.3

Wellington 1322 1389 -4.8 8.57 2612 2843 -8.1 1037 1183 -12.3

Nelson 267 332 -19.6 1.73 875 901 -2.9 215 249 -13.7

Blenheim 163 187 -12.8 1.06 332 365 -9.0 99 123 -19.5

Greymouth 70 74 -5.4 0.45 156 164 -4.9 37 44 -15.9

Westport 25 30 -16.7 0.16 90 76 18.4 - - -

Christchurch 2100 2086 0.7 13.62 4814 4878 -1.3 1666 1784 -6.6

Timaru 200 230 -13.0 1.30 522 492 6.1 141 150 -6.0

Oamaru 70 65 7.7 0.45 204 159 28.3 24 19 26.3

Dunedin 610 631 -3.3 3.96 1707 1523 12.1 467 452 3.3

Invercargill 405 376 7.7 2.63 855 920 -7.1 296 314 -5.7

NZ total 15419 16067 -4.0 100.00 37412 38061 -1.7 12341 13136 -6.1

Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003 Sale of Goods Act 1908 Fair Trading Act 1986 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act 2000

Compliance made simple... since 1999

Proud to sPonsor the secondhand car sales statistics

Overall there were 65,172 vehicles traded last month, which was down

5,569 or 8.5 per cent on March and also down on April 2013 by 3.2 per cent or 2,029 transactions

The average percentage share over the past 12 months for each of the segments measured in this report are; public to trader 18.7 per cent, public to public 56.6 per cent and trader to public 24.7 per cent

The share of dealer-to-public transactions dropped last month to 23.7 per cent whereas public to trader and public to public shares increased 18.9 and 57.4 per cent respectively.

Lee Shepherd, of Car City Auckland, says: “Trade has been flat-tack.”

This is despite Auckland recording a drop in dealer to public trading by 4.4 per cent compared to April 2013.

“All our cars seem to be priced right, the stock mix is different, and we focus on good-grade imports,” Shepherd says. “We have great salespeople too.”

The stand-outs for the dealership included the Mazda Atenza, Honda Odyssey, and the Honda Accord Euro RS.

He says the dealership offers a $200 client referral fee, which has lifted the number of clients they gain via word-of-mouth.

Car City’s finance penetration was around 90 per cent and Shepherd says he can beat the banks, with an interest rate of 13 per cent.

Last month Rotorua saw a 12.3 per cent drop in dealer-to-public sales.

Bruce Lowe, dealer principal of Rotorua Hyundai, reports April and May as very challenging.

“The buyer confidence is just

not in the market at the present time, we have had some very fruitful months and our last financial year was a successful one, but 2014 has not started in the same manner.”

He had no trouble securing New Zealand new used stock.

“At the moment we have a lot of late model used car stock,” he says.

“Our client base is pretty loyal and tend to turn over a new vehicle every three years and that gives us a lot of late model New Zealand new cars.”

John Cameron, owner of Hutt Wholesale Cars, has seen the market pick up during May.

It comes after a 4.7 per cent drop in Wellington’s trader to public sales last month, compared to April 2013.

“You have to place a focus on the bread-and-butter stock, such as

the Nissan Tiida and Mazda Demio.”’He says with the increasing

competition from Turners Auctions, dealers should place an emphasis on high-quality, rather than quantity.

“My minimum grade is four, I look for quality rather than price, that won’t cost at this end with regard to panel beating and compliance,” Cameron told Autofile.

“A lot of dealers just look for the cheapest stock.”

He says this cheaper stock led to a lot of dealers writing misleading descriptions on Trade Me to hide a vehicle’s defects.

“Trade Me has made it a price-driven competition, when we never had that before.

“You might have two cars that look the same in the photos that are priced differently – but the photos can hide a lot of things.”

24 | www.autofile.co.nz

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Fresh approach reignites VolvoToyota retained its title at

the top of the sales ladder last month, but its sales

dropped by 284 compared to bumper sales in March.

In April, there were 6,118 registrations, of which 3,636 – or 59.4 per cent – were business sales, while 2,482 were private.

Of Toyota’s 765 sales, 516 were business – or 67.5 per cent – and April’s total was up 25 per cent compared to the same month last year.

Holden’s sales in April came in at 658, with 424 business sales accounting for 62.4 per cent of its total.

Rounding up the top three was Hyundai with 568 sales, of which 389 – or 68.5 per cent – were business.

Despite comparatively low figures, Volvo’s sales of 37 vehicles last month increased by 67 per cent on April 2013.

Steve Kenchington, general manager of Scandinavian Vehicle Distributors, says the marque has recorded 164 registrations to April this year, representing a 61.5 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

Volvo’s share of private sales made up 40.5 per cent of its total on 15 units, while business registrations accounted for the remaining 59.5 per cent on 22.

He says traditionally Volvo has appealed to private buyers because of the niche positioning of the product.

“We’re a very family-oriented brand,” he says. “The business market is something we would like to increase, but to middle and senior management as opposed to

significant fleet volume.”This year Volvo doubled

its marketing budget, but Kenchington says a variety of factors have led to the marque’s strong performance.

“It’s a combination of building confidence in the factory and dealer network, and having the ability to invest in the brand to get the returns,” he says.

“All the pieces of the puzzle have been put together.”

Volvo also returned to the V8 Supercars series after a 15 year absence, with Scott McLauglin behind the wheel.

“The impact of the V8’s from my own personal perspective is that it has hardened the image of the brand, which is something we have always wanted to do,” he told Autofile.

No new product has been launched by Volvo this year, but there has been growth across the entire range.

Strong performers include the XC90 up by 300 per cent, the XC70 boosting sales by 100 per cent and the V40 up by 27 per cent.

“We want to maintain the current run rate and achieve 70 per cent growth by the end of the year, laying the foundation for the new XE90 next year.”

Following the XE90’s launch, the entire product range will be replaced over an 18-month period.”

Kenchington says there are no plans to expand the dealer network.

“We have a huge amount of praise for our dealers who have shown immense loyalty in the past, and we want to reward that loyalty.”

“The brand is much better than sales in the past have shown.”

passenger car sales by private/Business split - Mia statistics

MAkE PrIvAtE % PrIvAtE bUSINESS % bUSINESS totAl

Alfa Romeo 19 61.3 12 38.7 31

Aston Martin 2 66.7 1 33.3 3

Audi 64 40.3 95 59.7 159

Bentley 0 0.0 1 100.0 1

BMW 61 30.7 138 69.3 199

Chery 19 95.0 1 5.0 20

Chrysler 3 33.3 6 66.7 9

Citroen 17 54.8 14 45.2 31

Daihatsu 0 0.0 11 100.0 11

Dodge 13 41.9 18 58.1 31

Fiat 10 55.6 8 44.4 18

Ford 111 25.7 321 74.3 432

Great Wall 8 61.5 5 38.5 13

Holden 234 35.6 424 64.4 658

Honda 102 51.0 98 49.0 200

Hyundai 179 31.5 389 68.5 568

Jaguar 6 50.0 6 50.0 12

Jeep 53 46.1 62 53.9 115

Kia 58 25.2 172 74.8 230

Lamborghini 1 100.0 0 0.0 1

Land Rover 29 45.3 35 54.7 64

Lexus 15 53.6 13 46.4 28

Maserati 3 75.0 1 25.0 4

Mazda 198 40.8 287 59.2 485

Mercedes-Benz 49 40.8 71 59.2 120

MG 3 75.0 1 25.0 4

Mini 21 43.8 27 56.3 48

Mitsubishi 197 59.0 137 41.0 334

Nissan 245 52.4 223 47.6 468

Peugeot 49 53.3 43 46.7 92

Porsche 12 57.1 9 42.9 21

Renault 1 5.6 17 94.4 18

Skoda 21 31.3 46 68.7 67

SsangYong 27 38.6 43 61.4 70

Subaru 36 28.8 89 71.2 125

Suzuki 180 58.1 130 41.9 310

Toyota 249 32.5 516 67.5 765

Volkswagen 167 55.3 135 44.7 302

Volvo 15 40.5 22 59.5 37

Other 1 20.0 4 80.0 5

Isuzu Trucks 4 44.4 5 55.6 9

total 2482 40.6 3636 59.4 6118

*Business sales include rental and government sales, and the totals include passenger cars and SUVs. SOURCE: MIA

www.autofile.co.nz | 25

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neW vehicle MaRKet segMentation - april 2014

APr '14 APr '13 Mth% dIFF 2014 Ytd 2013 Ytd % Ytd

Passenger 3,508 3,626 -3.3 17,337 16,236 6.8

SUV 2,610 2,241 16.5 11,537 9,508 21.3

Light Commercial 2,258 1,915 17.9 9,125 7,845 16.3

Heavy Commercial 319 294 8.5 1,442 1,077 33.9

Other 34 49 -30.6 147 171 -14.0

total market 8,729 8,125 7.4 39,588 34,837 13.6

Light 881 1,147 -23.2 4,576 5,143 -11.0

Small 1,637 1,452 12.7 8,146 6,457 26.2

Medium 506 522 -3.1 2,289 2,368 -3.3

Large 312 317 -1.6 1,465 1,425 2.8

Upper Large 28 16 75.0 118 82 43.9

People Movers 50 45 11.1 294 251 17.1

Sports 94 127 -26.0 449 510 -12.0

SUV Small 632 456 38.6 2,902 2,070 40.2

SUV Medium 1,060 956 10.9 4,504 3,735 20.6

SUV Large 870 796 9.3 3,944 3,553 11.0

SUV Upper Large 48 33 45.5 187 150 24.7

Light Buses 46 21 119.0 156 76 105.3

Vans 415 350 18.6 1,736 1,704 1.9

Pick Up/Chassis Cab 4x2 737 570 29.3 2,898 2,219 30.6

Pick Up/Chassis Cab 4x4 1,060 974 8.8 4,335 3,846 12.7

Heavy Commercial 319 294 8.5 1,442 1,077 33.9

Other 34 49 -30.6 147 171 -14.0

total market 8,729 8,125 7.4 39,588 34,837 13.6

neW vehicle sales BY BUYeR tYpe - april 2014

APr '14 APr '13 Mth % 2014 Ytd 2013 Ytd % Ytd

Passenger 3,508 3,626 -3.3 17,337 16,236 6.8

Private 1,453 1,561 -6.9 6,952 6,365 9.2

Business 1,852 1,790 3.5 8,286 7,589 9.2

Gov’t 152 217 -30.0 837 853 -1.9

Rental 51 58 -12.1 1,262 1,429 -11.7

SUV 2,610 2,241 16.5 11,537 9,508 21.3

Private 1,029 945 8.9 4,595 3,682 24.8

Business 1,487 1,241 19.8 6,352 5,392 17.8

Gov’t 40 45 -11.1 194 178 9.0

Rental 54 10 440.0 396 256 54.7

Light Commercial 2,258 1,915 17.9 9,125 7,845 16.3

Private 484 359 34.8 2,121 1,535 38.2

Business 1,636 1,430 14.4 6,551 5,732 14.3

Gov’t 101 89 13.5 348 408 -14.7

Rental 37 37 0.0 105 170 -38.2

Sub Total 8,376 7,782 7.6 37,999 33,589 13.1

Private 2,966 2,865 3.5 13,668 11,582 18.0

Business 4,975 4,461 11.5 21,189 18,713 13.2

Gov’t 293 351 -16.5 1,379 1,439 -4.2

Rental 142 105 35.2 1,763 1,855 -5.0

Heavy Commercial 319 294 8.5 1,442 1,077 33.9

Other 34 49 -30.6 147 171 -14.0

total 8,729 8,125 7.4 39,588 34,837 13.6

New vehicle registrations in April remained strong with 8,729 sales, which

was an increase of 7.4 per cent on the same month last year and was the strongest April since 1982.

Year-to-date the market is 13.6 per cent – or 4,751units – ahead of this time in 2013.

SUVs accounted for 2,610 sales last month, up 16.5 per cent compared to the same month in 2013.

Sales of SUVs to rental companies increased by 444 per cent on relatively low numbers, while passenger sales to rental fleets dropped by 12.1 per cent.

Total passenger sales also dipped by 3.3 per cent on the same month in 2013, but year-to-date they remain ahead by 6.8 per cent.

success of i30, but the facelift changed the current model.”

Hyundai will also update two passanger models in its range over the coming month – the Sonata and Genesis.

The commercial market continued to return high figures, on 2,258 units in April.

With National Fieldays looming in June, Lowe expects the dealership’s Isuzu D-Max sales to grow.

“D-Max has been patchy and there haven’t been a lot of leads,” he says.

“But May has been our best Isuzu month ever and as Fieldays approaches we’re expecting its share to grow.”

In Invercargill, Richard Murrell, dealer principal of Southland Vehicle sales, the franchise for Kia and Isuzu

New vehicle sales still ahead Bruce Lowe, dealer principal of

Rotorua Hyundai and Isuzu says the passenger market remains incredibly competitive.

“It’s a pretty aggressive market place and there are a lot of specials being had,” he says.

“As a buyer there would be a fair bit to get your head around with all these manufacturers trying to earn their business.”

The number of small cars sold last month was 1,637, which bought the year-to-date total to 8,146, which is 24 per cent ahead of the same time last year.

Lowe says Hyundai has seen growth in this segment from sales of the ix35 and the Accent.

“The Accent was a bit of a nothing car in the past with the

in Invercargill, says Kia passenger sales have been consistent.

“The market down here is split between a third passenger, a third SUV and a third utes,” he told Autofile.

“It’s really competitive in each of those segments, so you have to be in all of them.

“Our market share is abnormally high for Kia and we’re doing double figures, while Kia has run at about four or five per cent of the market nationally,” Murrell says.

Peter ‘PJ’ Johnston, of Auckland SsangYong, says the dealership is fielding huge enquiry for the South Korean newcomer.

“We think the commercial market is getting stronger and SsangYong is the fastest-growing brand in New Zealand at the moment.”

26 | www.autofile.co.nz

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2013  

2012  

Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne Napier New Plymouth Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne

Napier New Plymouth Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Westport Christchurch Timaru Oamaru Dunedin

Invercargill Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne Napier New Plymouth

Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua

Ar

ou

n d t h e c ou nt

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20 | www.autofile.co.nz

0800 7000 44autoport.netwww.

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Biggest increases/Decreases By town year-on-year

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Biggest increases new Used

westport  100.0% Blenheim  95.5% thames  51.2% nelson  64.9% napier  34.1% rotorua  52.0%

Biggest decreases new Used

wanganui  27.7% westport  41.7% gisborne  26.8% Masterton  20.0% timaru  23.7% timaru  12.4%

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Used Vehicle RegistRatiOnsNorth IslaNd versus south IslaNd

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Used imPORt PassengeR Vehicle RegistRatiOns by city

october 2013

autoport.net

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26 | www.autofile.co.nz

www.autofile.co.nz | 27

Annual high for stockpileThe amount of stock held

by used car dealers during

October was the highest

monthly total of the year.

There were 10,374 units

imported last month with a

variance of 1,829 on 8,545 sales.

The number of cars in stock

amounted to 9,323 compared to

7,494 in September.

There have been two other

major increases during 2013 – with

variances between imports and sales

of 3,121 in April and 2,507 in May.

Graeme Macdonald, chairman

of the North Island branch of the

Imported Motor Vehicle Industry

Association, says the current

stockpile should correct itself – as it

normally does.“If the monthly stockpile was

10,000 on a regular basis it means

there are solid holding numbers,”

he told Autofile. “North of that

and we would be looking at an

oversupply issue.

“There was good buying in Japan

in March, and we saw high arrival

numbers in April, May and June.

“The stockpile occurs more at

certain times of the year. Since

I came back into the industry in

1996, it has ebbed and flowed.”

Used car stock levels are

traditionally based on what’s

happening in Japan and what

consumers are buying here.

Conditions there have improved

recently and the exchange rate

has gone up.“October and November are

normally difficult for the industry,

so the stockpile tends to go

up,” says Macdonald. “But trade

swings up over Christmas and the

holidays, so it goes down.

“December and January are

good months for sales because

people take time off work, the kids

are off school and people may have

Christmas bonuses or holiday pay.

“It’s a time when Kiwis tend to

make financial decisions, so dealers

need to have plenty of stock to

match demand.“When the market’s down in

Japan, stock is hard to get. When

it’s buoyant, you tend to buy what

you can because you don’t know

what will be available next time.

“Dealers also need to bear in

mind it takes four to six weeks to

get stock from Japan.”

Larger operations, of say 300

units, are more static with their

holding not changing too much.

A drop of 50 units may not be

too drastic. But stock can vary

enormously by proportion on yards

with 30 to 40 cars.

“They can suddenly be selling

without having bought for a few

weeks and being 10-15 units down

makes them more susceptible,”

says Macdonald.

“Dealers then jump online to

buy more from Japan, but that’s

always been the way.

“You can oversupply when

buying conditions are good, but

the marketplace normally corrects

itself by pulling back from Japan or

selling down. The numbers might

drop for a month or two before

trundling up again.

“There’s no magic supply-chain

miracle. When it’s slow, it tends to be

slow for everybody. If you can get

good supply with a good exchange

rate, everyone benefits.”

did come down after the global

financial crisis [GFC].

“Stocking levels then increased

again and they respond to the

number of new vehicles sold and

the rate at which they are sold.

“They basically go up when

sales go up, but I’m not so sure

about the days stock is held for

being longer and can’t explain that.

“Average sales per day came

down during the GFC and before

that they were much higher.”

If 80,000 vehicles are sold one

year and 100,000 are sold the

following year, the average sales

per day should be higher – and

the MIA is expecting more new

vehicles to be sold this year than

during 2012.There were 54,404 sales in 2009,

62,029 in 2010, 64,019 in 2011

and 76,871 in 2012, and the MIA is

predicting about 82,000 passenger

vehicle and SUV sales this year.

“We’re looking at about 30,600

light commercials and we’re on

track for 112,000 or 113,000 new

vehicle sales overall.”

Business confidence being

high and strong regional

economies in Auckland and

Christchurch are boosting sales.

“Trades people are upgrading

their vehicles,” says Crawford.

“Although passenger cars aren’t so

hot, SUVs are.“People in the housing market

are refinancing their mortgages

to buy big-ticket items especially

when they are confident about

keeping their jobs.”

All that said, some of the

regional centres, such as Hawke’s

Bay and Palmerston North, aren’t

showing as much growth as

other centres.“But 80 per cent of New Zealand’s

population is in Auckland and

Christchurch. “If you add in Dunedin and

Wellington, these centres cover a

large proportion of the population

and all have strong economies.”

Year to date, 77,438 new cars

have been imported and 68,612

have been registered to give a

variance of 8,826 so far this year.

Days with stock at hand has

been steadily increasing from 78 in

January to 131 in October.

Last year 90,754 units were

imported and there were 76,871

sales for a variance of 13,883.

Stock levels of new cars have

increased every month

except one this year, with

October’s total of 29,509 being the

highest of 2013.There were 7,962 sales last

month, also this year’s biggest

amount, while the variance was

1,400 with 9,362 units imported –

the second highest amount after

11,065 imports in August.

The total stock figure at the

end of December was 20,683 and

that dropped to this year’s low of

18,653 in January.

David Crawford, chief executive

officer of the Motor Industry

Association (MIA), says current

models aren’t sitting around in

stock for too long.

“The industry tends to manage

stock levels quite well and does this

day in, day out,” he told Autofile.

“My data suggests this is a

cyclical thing and levels were no

higher in previous years, but they

Industry manages levels well

Dealer stock of new cars in New Zealand - Oct 2013

2012 Imported NeW CArS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

MIA stock estimate as at end of December 2011 12,984

Jan ‘12 5,026 7,499 (2,473) 10,511 242 43

Feb ‘12 7,368 5,633 1,735 12,246 223 55

Mar ‘12 7,228 6,499 729 12,975 218 59

Apr ‘12 6,285 5,430 855 13,830 209 66

May ‘12 7,742 5,942 1,800 15,630 205 76

Jun ‘12 8,870 7,142 1,728 17,358 211 82

Jul ‘12 7,894 6,208 1,686 19,044 209 91

Aug ‘12 8,589 5,959 2,630 21,674 207 105

Sep ‘12 6,828 6,637 191 21,865 209 105

Oct ‘12 8,155 7,336 819 22,684 211 107

Nov ‘12 8,953 6,484 2,469 25,153 212 119

Dec ‘12 7,816 6,102 1,714 26,867 211 128

ytd total 90,754 76,871 13,883

2013 Imported NeW CArS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

Total stock at the end of December 2012 26,867

Jan ‘13 5,355 7,385 (2,030) 24,837 238 104

Feb ‘13 7,027 5,799 1,228 26,065 223 117

Mar ‘13 6,329 6,800 (471) 25,594 222 115

Apr ‘13 7,391 5,908 1,483 27,077 216 125

May ‘13 7,429 6,347 1,082 28,159 214 132

Jun ‘13 8,051 7,542 509 28,668 220 130

Jul ‘13 8,423 6,769 1,654 30,322 220 138

Aug ‘13 11,065 6,828 4,237 34,559 220 157

Sep ‘13 7,006 7,272 (266) 34,293 222 154

Oct ‘13 9,362 7,962 1,400 35,693 226 158

Nov ‘13 - - - - - -

Dec ‘13 - - - - - -

ytd total 77,438 68,612 8,826

2013 predicted sales 82,380

Dealer stock of used car imports in New Zealand - Oct 2013

2012 Imported USed ImportS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

Total stock at the end of December 2011 8,579

Jan ‘12 3,191 6,375 (3,184) 5,395 206 26

Feb ‘12 4,920 6,000 (1,080) 4,315 210 21

Mar ‘12 6,504 6,429 75 4,390 209 21

Apr ‘12 6,613 5,877 736 5,126 206 25

May ‘12 7,693 6,793 900 6,026 208 29

Jun ‘12 6,947 6,184 763 6,789 208 33

Jul ‘12 5,335 6,641 (1,306) 5,483 209 26

Aug ‘12 5,540 6,621 (1,081) 4,402 210 21

Sep ‘12 5,506 6,222 (716) 3,686 209 18

Oct ‘12 5,688 6,867 (1,179) 2,507 211 12

Nov ‘12 8,486 7,183 1,303 3,810 213 18

Dec ‘12 6,414 7,119 (705) 3,105 215 14

ytd total 72,837 78,311 (5,474)

2013 Imported USed ImportS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

Total stock at the end of December 2012 3105

Jan ‘13 4,468 7,397 (2,929) 176 239 0.7

Feb ‘13 8,247 6,922 1,325 1,501 243 6

Mar ‘13 8,852 7,581 1,271 2,772 243 11

Apr ‘13 10,539 7,418 3,121 5,893 244 24

May ‘13 10,967 8,460 2,507 8,400 250 34

Jun ‘13 8,089 7,862 227 8,627 252 34

Jul ‘13 8,623 9,629 (1,006) 7,621 261 29

Aug ‘13 8,635 8,648 (13) 7,608 263 29

Sep ‘13 7,501 7,615 (114) 7,494 262 29

Oct ‘13 10,374 8,545 1,829 9,323 263 35

Nov ‘13 - - - - - -

Dec ‘13 - - - - - -

ytd total 86,295 80,077 6,218

2013 predicted sales 96,145

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Days stock in nZ - UseD import cars

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SPONSORSHIP OF THE NEW AND USED COMMERCIAL STATISTICS

PAGES IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR YOUR BUSINESSTARGETED ADVERTISING SPACE

SHOULDN’T WE BE LOOKING AT YOUR BUSINESS? For all enquiries contact Brian on 021 455 775 or email brian@autofi le.co.nz

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New Passenger Vehicle Sales by Make - November 2013

Make Nov '13 Nov '12 +/- % Nov '13

Mkt Share2013 total

2013 Mkt Share

Toyota 1746 1190 46.7 23.4% 14670 19.3%

Holden 685 673 1.8 9.2% 8102 10.7%

Ford 618 596 3.7 8.3% 6519 8.6%

Hyundai 572 624 -8.3 7.7% 6695 8.8%

Mazda 512 485 5.6 6.9% 5447 7.2%

Nissan 382 281 35.9 5.1% 3342 4.4%

Suzuki 376 405 -7.2 5.0% 4436 5.8%

Mitsubishi 351 272 29.0 4.7% 3661 4.8%

Honda 310 312 -0.6 4.2% 2994 3.9%

Volkswagen 288 261 10.3 3.9% 3527 4.6%

Kia 202 240 -15.8 2.7% 2563 3.4%

BMw 172 178 -3.4 2.3% 1861 2.4%

Subaru 165 153 7.8 2.2% 1645 2.2%

Audi 163 150 8.7 2.2% 1748 2.3%

Mercedes-Benz 128 82 56.1 1.7% 1398 1.8%

Peugeot 108 60 80.0 1.4% 1001 1.3%

Jeep 92 65 41.5 1.2% 775 1.0%

Ssangyong 86 49 75.5 1.2% 724 1.0%

Dodge 64 46 39.1 0.9% 478 0.6%

Skoda 63 56 12.5 0.8% 654 0.9%

Lexus 54 44 22.7 0.7% 508 0.7%

Land Rover 51 22 131.8 0.7% 443 0.6%

Mini 44 43 2.3 0.6% 474 0.6%

Chery 34 21 61.9 0.5% 351 0.5%

Alfa Romeo 24 31 -22.6 0.3% 182 0.2%

Great wall 23 38 -39.5 0.3% 211 0.3%

Fiat 21 2 950.0 0.3% 142 0.2%

Renault 21 8 162.5 0.3% 98 0.1%

Volvo 18 19 -5.3 0.2% 229 0.3%

Porsche 13 11 18.2 0.2% 182 0.2%

Citroen 12 16 -25.0 0.2% 286 0.4%

Jaguar 12 5 140.0 0.2% 128 0.2%

Chrysler 10 13 -23.1 0.1% 120 0.2%

Can-Am 9 6 50.0 0.1% 75 0.1%

Daihatsu 6 19 -68.4 0.1% 258 0.3%

Aston Martin 4 1 300.0 0.1% 25 0.0%

Maserati 4 2 100.0 0.1% 14 0.0%

Mahindra 3 - - 0.0% 6 0.0%

MG 2 0 200.0 0.0% 12 0.0%

Chrysler Jeep 1 - - 0.0% 1 0.0%

Mclaren 1 0 100.0 0.0% 6 0.0%

Others 3 5 -40.0 0.0% 71 0.1%

total 7453 6484 14.9 100.0% 76062 100.0%

New Passenger Vehicle Sales by Model - November 2013

Make Model Nov '13 Nov '12 +/- %Nov Mkt

Share2013

total2013 Mkt

Share

Toyota Corolla 626 462 35.5 8.4% 5283 6.9%

Toyota RAV4 289 80 261.3 3.9% 2521 3.3%

Holden Commodore 260 171 52.0 3.5% 2399 3.2%

Mazda Cx-5 239 141 69.5 3.2% 1989 2.6%

Toyota yaris 227 267 -15.0 3.0% 2235 2.9%

Suzuki Swift 218 254 -14.2 2.9% 2750 3.6%

Ford Mondeo 184 98 87.8 2.5% 1201 1.6%

Hyundai ix35 168 81 107.4 2.3% 1338 1.8%

Mitsubishi Lancer 168 84 100.0 2.3% 894 1.2%

Toyota Camry 168 131 28.2 2.3% 1270 1.7%

Holden Captiva 135 319 -57.7 1.8% 2039 2.7%

Volkswagen Golf 134 103 30.1 1.8% 1469 1.9%

Toyota Highlander 118 79 49.4 1.6% 1092 1.4%

Ford Focus 114 212 -46.2 1.5% 1429 1.9%

Honda Jazz 113 76 48.7 1.5% 922 1.2%

Ford Kuga 112 18 522.2 1.5% 952 1.3%

Mazda Mazda3 109 151 -27.8 1.5% 1537 2.0%

Toyota Aurion 107 23 365.2 1.4% 447 0.6%

Holden Cruze 106 80 32.5 1.4% 1925 2.5%

Hyundai Santa Fe 103 261 -60.5 1.4% 1847 2.4%

Honda Civic 100 115 -13.0 1.3% 852 1.1%

Mitsubishi Outlander 97 118 -17.8 1.3% 1258 1.7%

Hyundai i30 95 103 -7.8 1.3% 1255 1.6%

Nissan Qashqai 93 106 -12.3 1.2% 884 1.2%

Toyota Landcruiser Prado 87 38 128.9 1.2% 557 0.7%

Nissan x-Trail 86 52 65.4 1.2% 779 1.0%

Ford Territory 83 137 -39.4 1.1% 1188 1.6%

Volkswagen Tiguan 78 53 47.2 1.0% 689 0.9%

Hyundai Accent 77 29 165.5 1.0% 572 0.8%

Honda CRV 71 82 -13.4 1.0% 793 1.0%

Mazda Mazda6 70 82 -14.6 0.9% 960 1.3%

Mazda Mazda2 66 77 -14.3 0.9% 712 0.9%

Ford Falcon 65 45 44.4 0.9% 835 1.1%

Nissan Pathfinder 65 7 828.6 0.9% 191 0.3%

Dodge Journey 64 46 39.1 0.9% 476 0.6%

Jeep Grand Cherokee 64 39 64.1 0.9% 502 0.7%

Ssangyong Korando 63 36 75.0 0.8% 480 0.6%

Ford Fiesta 60 85 -29.4 0.8% 892 1.2%

Bmw 116i 59 13 353.8 0.8% 378 0.5%

Holden Malibu 58 - - 0.8% 334 0.4%

Others2254 2130 5.8 30.2% 25936 34.1%

total7453 6484 14.9 100.0% 76062 100.0%

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2012  

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Invercargill Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne Napier New Plymouth

Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Whangarei Auckland Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua

Ar

ou

n d t h e c ou nt

ry

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Biggest increases/Decreases By town year-on-year

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Biggest increases new Used

westport  100.0% Blenheim  95.5% thames  51.2% nelson  64.9% napier  34.1% rotorua  52.0%

Biggest decreases new Used

wanganui  27.7% westport  41.7% gisborne  26.8% Masterton  20.0% timaru  23.7% timaru  12.4%

7000

6000

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Nov

‘12

DEC

‘12

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FEb

‘13

MAr

‘13

APr

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MAy

‘13

JuN

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JuL

‘13

AuG

‘13

SEP ‘

13

Oct

‘13

North Island

South Island

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‘12

DEC

‘12

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‘13

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‘13

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JuL

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‘13

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13

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‘13

Used

New7962

8545

1805

6740

Used Vehicle RegistRatiOnsNorth IslaNd versus south IslaNd

PassengeR Vehicle RegistRatiOnsNew versus used

Vehi

cles

sol

d

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0

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‘13

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Wellington

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cles

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‘13

Hamilton

Tauranga

Palmerston Nth

DunedinChristchurch

4320

495

1185

290

729

229

216

aucklaNd, wellINgtoN, chrIstchurch hamIltoN, tauraNga, duNedIN, PalmerstoN North

Used imPORt PassengeR Vehicle RegistRatiOns by city

october 2013

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Annual high for stockpileThe amount of stock held

by used car dealers during

October was the highest

monthly total of the year.

There were 10,374 units

imported last month with a

variance of 1,829 on 8,545 sales.

The number of cars in stock

amounted to 9,323 compared to

7,494 in September.

There have been two other

major increases during 2013 – with

variances between imports and sales

of 3,121 in April and 2,507 in May.

Graeme Macdonald, chairman

of the North Island branch of the

Imported Motor Vehicle Industry

Association, says the current

stockpile should correct itself – as it

normally does.“If the monthly stockpile was

10,000 on a regular basis it means

there are solid holding numbers,”

he told Autofile. “North of that

and we would be looking at an

oversupply issue.

“There was good buying in Japan

in March, and we saw high arrival

numbers in April, May and June.

“The stockpile occurs more at

certain times of the year. Since

I came back into the industry in

1996, it has ebbed and flowed.”

Used car stock levels are

traditionally based on what’s

happening in Japan and what

consumers are buying here.

Conditions there have improved

recently and the exchange rate

has gone up.“October and November are

normally difficult for the industry,

so the stockpile tends to go

up,” says Macdonald. “But trade

swings up over Christmas and the

holidays, so it goes down.

“December and January are

good months for sales because

people take time off work, the kids

are off school and people may have

Christmas bonuses or holiday pay.

“It’s a time when Kiwis tend to

make financial decisions, so dealers

need to have plenty of stock to

match demand.“When the market’s down in

Japan, stock is hard to get. When

it’s buoyant, you tend to buy what

you can because you don’t know

what will be available next time.

“Dealers also need to bear in

mind it takes four to six weeks to

get stock from Japan.”

Larger operations, of say 300

units, are more static with their

holding not changing too much.

A drop of 50 units may not be

too drastic. But stock can vary

enormously by proportion on yards

with 30 to 40 cars.

“They can suddenly be selling

without having bought for a few

weeks and being 10-15 units down

makes them more susceptible,”

says Macdonald.

“Dealers then jump online to

buy more from Japan, but that’s

always been the way.

“You can oversupply when

buying conditions are good, but

the marketplace normally corrects

itself by pulling back from Japan or

selling down. The numbers might

drop for a month or two before

trundling up again.

“There’s no magic supply-chain

miracle. When it’s slow, it tends to be

slow for everybody. If you can get

good supply with a good exchange

rate, everyone benefits.”

did come down after the global

financial crisis [GFC].

“Stocking levels then increased

again and they respond to the

number of new vehicles sold and

the rate at which they are sold.

“They basically go up when

sales go up, but I’m not so sure

about the days stock is held for

being longer and can’t explain that.

“Average sales per day came

down during the GFC and before

that they were much higher.”

If 80,000 vehicles are sold one

year and 100,000 are sold the

following year, the average sales

per day should be higher – and

the MIA is expecting more new

vehicles to be sold this year than

during 2012.There were 54,404 sales in 2009,

62,029 in 2010, 64,019 in 2011

and 76,871 in 2012, and the MIA is

predicting about 82,000 passenger

vehicle and SUV sales this year.

“We’re looking at about 30,600

light commercials and we’re on

track for 112,000 or 113,000 new

vehicle sales overall.”

Business confidence being

high and strong regional

economies in Auckland and

Christchurch are boosting sales.

“Trades people are upgrading

their vehicles,” says Crawford.

“Although passenger cars aren’t so

hot, SUVs are.“People in the housing market

are refinancing their mortgages

to buy big-ticket items especially

when they are confident about

keeping their jobs.”

All that said, some of the

regional centres, such as Hawke’s

Bay and Palmerston North, aren’t

showing as much growth as

other centres.“But 80 per cent of New Zealand’s

population is in Auckland and

Christchurch. “If you add in Dunedin and

Wellington, these centres cover a

large proportion of the population

and all have strong economies.”

Year to date, 77,438 new cars

have been imported and 68,612

have been registered to give a

variance of 8,826 so far this year.

Days with stock at hand has

been steadily increasing from 78 in

January to 131 in October.

Last year 90,754 units were

imported and there were 76,871

sales for a variance of 13,883.

Stock levels of new cars have

increased every month

except one this year, with

October’s total of 29,509 being the

highest of 2013.There were 7,962 sales last

month, also this year’s biggest

amount, while the variance was

1,400 with 9,362 units imported –

the second highest amount after

11,065 imports in August.

The total stock figure at the

end of December was 20,683 and

that dropped to this year’s low of

18,653 in January.

David Crawford, chief executive

officer of the Motor Industry

Association (MIA), says current

models aren’t sitting around in

stock for too long.

“The industry tends to manage

stock levels quite well and does this

day in, day out,” he told Autofile.

“My data suggests this is a

cyclical thing and levels were no

higher in previous years, but they

Industry manages levels well

Dealer stock of new cars in New Zealand - Oct 2013

2012 Imported NeW CArS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

MIA stock estimate as at end of December 2011 12,984

Jan ‘12 5,026 7,499 (2,473) 10,511 242 43

Feb ‘12 7,368 5,633 1,735 12,246 223 55

Mar ‘12 7,228 6,499 729 12,975 218 59

Apr ‘12 6,285 5,430 855 13,830 209 66

May ‘12 7,742 5,942 1,800 15,630 205 76

Jun ‘12 8,870 7,142 1,728 17,358 211 82

Jul ‘12 7,894 6,208 1,686 19,044 209 91

Aug ‘12 8,589 5,959 2,630 21,674 207 105

Sep ‘12 6,828 6,637 191 21,865 209 105

Oct ‘12 8,155 7,336 819 22,684 211 107

Nov ‘12 8,953 6,484 2,469 25,153 212 119

Dec ‘12 7,816 6,102 1,714 26,867 211 128

ytd total 90,754 76,871 13,883

2013 Imported NeW CArS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

Total stock at the end of December 2012 26,867

Jan ‘13 5,355 7,385 (2,030) 24,837 238 104

Feb ‘13 7,027 5,799 1,228 26,065 223 117

Mar ‘13 6,329 6,800 (471) 25,594 222 115

Apr ‘13 7,391 5,908 1,483 27,077 216 125

May ‘13 7,429 6,347 1,082 28,159 214 132

Jun ‘13 8,051 7,542 509 28,668 220 130

Jul ‘13 8,423 6,769 1,654 30,322 220 138

Aug ‘13 11,065 6,828 4,237 34,559 220 157

Sep ‘13 7,006 7,272 (266) 34,293 222 154

Oct ‘13 9,362 7,962 1,400 35,693 226 158

Nov ‘13 - - - - - -

Dec ‘13 - - - - - -

ytd total 77,438 68,612 8,826

2013 predicted sales 82,380

Dealer stock of used car imports in New Zealand - Oct 2013

2012 Imported USed ImportS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

Total stock at the end of December 2011 8,579

Jan ‘12 3,191 6,375 (3,184) 5,395 206 26

Feb ‘12 4,920 6,000 (1,080) 4,315 210 21

Mar ‘12 6,504 6,429 75 4,390 209 21

Apr ‘12 6,613 5,877 736 5,126 206 25

May ‘12 7,693 6,793 900 6,026 208 29

Jun ‘12 6,947 6,184 763 6,789 208 33

Jul ‘12 5,335 6,641 (1,306) 5,483 209 26

Aug ‘12 5,540 6,621 (1,081) 4,402 210 21

Sep ‘12 5,506 6,222 (716) 3,686 209 18

Oct ‘12 5,688 6,867 (1,179) 2,507 211 12

Nov ‘12 8,486 7,183 1,303 3,810 213 18

Dec ‘12 6,414 7,119 (705) 3,105 215 14

ytd total 72,837 78,311 (5,474)

2013 Imported USed ImportS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

Total stock at the end of December 2012 3105

Jan ‘13 4,468 7,397 (2,929) 176 239 0.7

Feb ‘13 8,247 6,922 1,325 1,501 243 6

Mar ‘13 8,852 7,581 1,271 2,772 243 11

Apr ‘13 10,539 7,418 3,121 5,893 244 24

May ‘13 10,967 8,460 2,507 8,400 250 34

Jun ‘13 8,089 7,862 227 8,627 252 34

Jul ‘13 8,623 9,629 (1,006) 7,621 261 29

Aug ‘13 8,635 8,648 (13) 7,608 263 29

Sep ‘13 7,501 7,615 (114) 7,494 262 29

Oct ‘13 10,374 8,545 1,829 9,323 263 35

Nov ‘13 - - - - - -

Dec ‘13 - - - - - -

ytd total 86,295 80,077 6,218

2013 predicted sales 96,145

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Days stock in nZ - UseD import cars

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New Passenger Vehicle Sales by Make - November 2013Make Nov '13 Nov '12 +/- % Nov '13

Mkt Share 2013 total 2013 Mkt ShareToyota 1746 1190 46.7 23.4% 14670 19.3%Holden 685 673 1.8 9.2% 8102 10.7%Ford 618 596 3.7 8.3% 6519 8.6%Hyundai 572 624 -8.3 7.7% 6695 8.8%Mazda 512 485 5.6 6.9% 5447 7.2%Nissan 382 281 35.9 5.1% 3342 4.4%Suzuki 376 405 -7.2 5.0% 4436 5.8%Mitsubishi 351 272 29.0 4.7% 3661 4.8%Honda 310 312 -0.6 4.2% 2994 3.9%Volkswagen 288 261 10.3 3.9% 3527 4.6%Kia 202 240 -15.8 2.7% 2563 3.4%BMw 172 178 -3.4 2.3% 1861 2.4%Subaru 165 153 7.8 2.2% 1645 2.2%Audi 163 150 8.7 2.2% 1748 2.3%Mercedes-Benz 128 82 56.1 1.7% 1398 1.8%Peugeot 108 60 80.0 1.4% 1001 1.3%Jeep 92 65 41.5 1.2% 775 1.0%Ssangyong 86 49 75.5 1.2% 724 1.0%Dodge 64 46 39.1 0.9% 478 0.6%Skoda 63 56 12.5 0.8% 654 0.9%Lexus 54 44 22.7 0.7% 508 0.7%Land Rover 51 22 131.8 0.7% 443 0.6%Mini 44 43 2.3 0.6% 474 0.6%Chery 34 21 61.9 0.5% 351 0.5%Alfa Romeo 24 31 -22.6 0.3% 182 0.2%Great wall 23 38 -39.5 0.3% 211 0.3%Fiat 21 2 950.0 0.3% 142 0.2%Renault 21 8 162.5 0.3% 98 0.1%Volvo 18 19 -5.3 0.2% 229 0.3%Porsche 13 11 18.2 0.2% 182 0.2%Citroen 12 16 -25.0 0.2% 286 0.4%Jaguar 12 5 140.0 0.2% 128 0.2%Chrysler 10 13 -23.1 0.1% 120 0.2%Can-Am 9 6 50.0 0.1% 75 0.1%Daihatsu 6 19 -68.4 0.1% 258 0.3%Aston Martin 4 1 300.0 0.1% 25 0.0%Maserati 4 2 100.0 0.1% 14 0.0%Mahindra 3 - - 0.0% 6 0.0%MG 2 0 200.0 0.0% 12 0.0%Chrysler Jeep 1 - - 0.0% 1 0.0%Mclaren 1 0 100.0 0.0% 6 0.0%Others 3 5 -40.0 0.0% 71 0.1%total 7453 6484 14.9 100.0% 76062 100.0%

New Passenger Vehicle Sales by Model - November 2013Make Model Nov '13 Nov '12 +/- % Nov Mkt

Share2013

total2013 Mkt

ShareToyota Corolla 626 462 35.5 8.4% 5283 6.9%Toyota RAV4 289 80 261.3 3.9% 2521 3.3%Holden Commodore 260 171 52.0 3.5% 2399 3.2%Mazda Cx-5 239 141 69.5 3.2% 1989 2.6%Toyota yaris 227 267 -15.0 3.0% 2235 2.9%Suzuki Swift 218 254 -14.2 2.9% 2750 3.6%Ford Mondeo 184 98 87.8 2.5% 1201 1.6%Hyundai ix35 168 81 107.4 2.3% 1338 1.8%Mitsubishi Lancer 168 84 100.0 2.3% 894 1.2%Toyota Camry 168 131 28.2 2.3% 1270 1.7%Holden Captiva 135 319 -57.7 1.8% 2039 2.7%Volkswagen Golf 134 103 30.1 1.8% 1469 1.9%Toyota Highlander 118 79 49.4 1.6% 1092 1.4%Ford Focus 114 212 -46.2 1.5% 1429 1.9%Honda Jazz 113 76 48.7 1.5% 922 1.2%Ford Kuga 112 18 522.2 1.5% 952 1.3%Mazda Mazda3 109 151 -27.8 1.5% 1537 2.0%Toyota Aurion 107 23 365.2 1.4% 447 0.6%Holden Cruze 106 80 32.5 1.4% 1925 2.5%Hyundai Santa Fe 103 261 -60.5 1.4% 1847 2.4%Honda Civic 100 115 -13.0 1.3% 852 1.1%Mitsubishi Outlander 97 118 -17.8 1.3% 1258 1.7%Hyundai i30 95 103 -7.8 1.3% 1255 1.6%Nissan Qashqai 93 106 -12.3 1.2% 884 1.2%Toyota Landcruiser Prado 87 38 128.9 1.2% 557 0.7%Nissan x-Trail 86 52 65.4 1.2% 779 1.0%Ford Territory 83 137 -39.4 1.1% 1188 1.6%Volkswagen Tiguan 78 53 47.2 1.0% 689 0.9%Hyundai Accent 77 29 165.5 1.0% 572 0.8%Honda CRV 71 82 -13.4 1.0% 793 1.0%Mazda Mazda6 70 82 -14.6 0.9% 960 1.3%Mazda Mazda2 66 77 -14.3 0.9% 712 0.9%Ford Falcon 65 45 44.4 0.9% 835 1.1%Nissan Pathfinder 65 7 828.6 0.9% 191 0.3%Dodge Journey 64 46 39.1 0.9% 476 0.6%Jeep Grand Cherokee 64 39 64.1 0.9% 502 0.7%Ssangyong Korando 63 36 75.0 0.8% 480 0.6%Ford Fiesta 60 85 -29.4 0.8% 892 1.2%Bmw 116i 59 13 353.8 0.8% 378 0.5%Holden Malibu 58 - - 0.8% 334 0.4%Others2254 2130 5.8 30.2% 25936 34.1%total7453 6484 14.9 100.0% 76062 100.0%

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850 wds

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New Passenger registrations - 2012-2013

Industry news and analysis as it happenswww.autofi le.co.nz

dealer stock of new cars in new Zealand

2013NEw CArS vArIANCE StoCk AvErAgE

SAlES PEr dAY - Ytd

dAYS StoCk

At hANdIMPortEd Sold

Total stock at the end of December 2012 26,867

Jan ‘13 5,355 7,385 (2,030) 24,837 238 104

Feb ‘13 7,027 5,799 1,228 26,065 223 117

Mar ‘13 6,329 6,800 (471) 25,594 222 115

Apr ‘13 7,342 5,907 1,435 27,029 216 125

May ‘13 7,400 6,347 1,053 28,082 213 132

Jun ‘13 8,051 7,541 510 28,592 220 130

Jul ‘13 8,423 6,768 1,655 30,247 220 138

Aug ‘13 11,065 6,828 4,237 34,484 220 157

Sep ‘13 6,996 7,272 (276) 34,208 222 154

Oct ‘13 9,362 7,962 1,400 35,608 226 158

Nov ‘13 9,591 7,453 2,138 37,746 228 166

Dec ‘13 8,826 6,371 2,455 40,201 226 178

total sales in 2013 95,767 82,433 13,334

2014NEw CArS vArIANCE StoCk AvErAgE

SAlES PEr dAY - Ytd

dAYS StoCk

At hANdIMPortEd Sold

Total stock at the end of December 2013 40,201

Jan ‘14 6,473 8,293 (1,820) 38,381 268 144

Feb ‘14 6,729 6,572 157 38,538 252 153

Mar ‘14 7,228 7,992 (764) 37,774 254 149

Apr ‘14 8,251 6,150 2,101 39,875 242 165

Ytd total 28,681 29,007 (326)

Predicted sales for 2014 88,330

DAyS StOck in nZ - new cArS

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2014

New cars didn’t race out of showrooms quite as quickly in April, with

sales decreasing by 23 per cent in comparison to March, but more new cars were imported.

In April 8,251 new cars arrived at New Zealand ports, whereas 6,150 new vehicles were registered.

The variance has come some way to addressing the high demand for new cars that outstripped supply for the first quarter of 2014.

For the past few years the number of new cars sold in April has dropped in comparison to March – that is by -16.5 per cent and -13.1 per cent in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

Nationally total sales continue to look better for 2014 with the

flat compared to the growth in Auckland and Christchurch during the past couple of years.

“Wellington feels a bit more buoyant with a few new infrastructure projects kicking off and commercial vehicles seem to be selling quite well,” says Foot.

The South Korean SUVs are selling extremely well with the ix35 and Santa Fe leading the fleet.

The new ix35 Series II is a slightly smaller SUV that has sold well to private buyers, which is good business for the dealerships.

Foot doesn’t expect the announcements in the May budget will have much effect on Wellington’s car sales.

“The election will probably have more impact, which it normally does in Wellington,” he says.

“Sales normally go a bit soft around election time because public servants wait to see what’s going to happen with government.”

Kevin Swift recently took up the Mazda sales manager role at South Auckland Motors in Manukau.

He says the region feels buoyant for car sales with neighbouring industrial zones and the busy

Post financial year-end declineaverage sales per day year-to-date, 242, exceeding performance for the past two years.

The predicted total new car sales for 2014 have declined from 92,698 in March to 88,330 – a 4.7 per cent drop.

David Foot, Hyundai dealer principal at Brendan Foot Supersite in Wellington says Hyundai has experienced a good start to the year.

Supply of Hyundai vehicles was good in recent months and Foot believes it may have been the best it’s ever been.

Hyundai sales increased in Wellington for the first few months of 2014 in spite of a number of corporates and head offices moving to Auckland or Australia.

This is a welcome turn around after the Wellington market was

airport sector.“April is financial year end for a

lot of people so in March they may have some budget left to be spent and they tend to do that,” says Swift.

“In April sales die off because people have spent their budgets for the year and are waiting for the new financial year to begin.”

Dealers were affected by holidays in April and in anticipation of the following month being busier – importers may have brought in more cars for May.

“As much as we don’t like to say it, New Zealand is quite a small market worldwide and the big manufacturers tend to look after the bigger markets.

“It can be quite frustrating when certain model lines are deleted that do well in New Zealand but don’t perform elsewhere in the world.

“Our supply of stock is pretty good and we’ve had a new Mazda 3 come on the market, which is a bit ‘skinny’ at the moment because of worldwide demand but we’re still holding our own.”

Some clients will change colours or wait a month to get exactly what they want.

new car stock

www.autofile.co.nz | 27

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Annual high for stockpileThe amount of stock held

by used car dealers during

October was the highest

monthly total of the year.

There were 10,374 units

imported last month with a

variance of 1,829 on 8,545 sales.

The number of cars in stock

amounted to 9,323 compared to

7,494 in September.

There have been two other

major increases during 2013 – with

variances between imports and sales

of 3,121 in April and 2,507 in May.

Graeme Macdonald, chairman

of the North Island branch of the

Imported Motor Vehicle Industry

Association, says the current

stockpile should correct itself – as it

normally does.“If the monthly stockpile was

10,000 on a regular basis it means

there are solid holding numbers,”

he told Autofile. “North of that

and we would be looking at an

oversupply issue.

“There was good buying in Japan

in March, and we saw high arrival

numbers in April, May and June.

“The stockpile occurs more at

certain times of the year. Since

I came back into the industry in

1996, it has ebbed and flowed.”

Used car stock levels are

traditionally based on what’s

happening in Japan and what

consumers are buying here.

Conditions there have improved

recently and the exchange rate

has gone up.“October and November are

normally difficult for the industry,

so the stockpile tends to go

up,” says Macdonald. “But trade

swings up over Christmas and the

holidays, so it goes down.

“December and January are

good months for sales because

people take time off work, the kids

are off school and people may have

Christmas bonuses or holiday pay.

“It’s a time when Kiwis tend to

make financial decisions, so dealers

need to have plenty of stock to

match demand.“When the market’s down in

Japan, stock is hard to get. When

it’s buoyant, you tend to buy what

you can because you don’t know

what will be available next time.

“Dealers also need to bear in

mind it takes four to six weeks to

get stock from Japan.”

Larger operations, of say 300

units, are more static with their

holding not changing too much.

A drop of 50 units may not be

too drastic. But stock can vary

enormously by proportion on yards

with 30 to 40 cars.

“They can suddenly be selling

without having bought for a few

weeks and being 10-15 units down

makes them more susceptible,”

says Macdonald.

“Dealers then jump online to

buy more from Japan, but that’s

always been the way.

“You can oversupply when

buying conditions are good, but

the marketplace normally corrects

itself by pulling back from Japan or

selling down. The numbers might

drop for a month or two before

trundling up again.

“There’s no magic supply-chain

miracle. When it’s slow, it tends to be

slow for everybody. If you can get

good supply with a good exchange

rate, everyone benefits.”

did come down after the global

financial crisis [GFC].

“Stocking levels then increased

again and they respond to the

number of new vehicles sold and

the rate at which they are sold.

“They basically go up when

sales go up, but I’m not so sure

about the days stock is held for

being longer and can’t explain that.

“Average sales per day came

down during the GFC and before

that they were much higher.”

If 80,000 vehicles are sold one

year and 100,000 are sold the

following year, the average sales

per day should be higher – and

the MIA is expecting more new

vehicles to be sold this year than

during 2012.There were 54,404 sales in 2009,

62,029 in 2010, 64,019 in 2011

and 76,871 in 2012, and the MIA is

predicting about 82,000 passenger

vehicle and SUV sales this year.

“We’re looking at about 30,600

light commercials and we’re on

track for 112,000 or 113,000 new

vehicle sales overall.”

Business confidence being

high and strong regional

economies in Auckland and

Christchurch are boosting sales.

“Trades people are upgrading

their vehicles,” says Crawford.

“Although passenger cars aren’t so

hot, SUVs are.“People in the housing market

are refinancing their mortgages

to buy big-ticket items especially

when they are confident about

keeping their jobs.”

All that said, some of the

regional centres, such as Hawke’s

Bay and Palmerston North, aren’t

showing as much growth as

other centres.“But 80 per cent of New Zealand’s

population is in Auckland and

Christchurch. “If you add in Dunedin and

Wellington, these centres cover a

large proportion of the population

and all have strong economies.”

Year to date, 77,438 new cars

have been imported and 68,612

have been registered to give a

variance of 8,826 so far this year.

Days with stock at hand has

been steadily increasing from 78 in

January to 131 in October.

Last year 90,754 units were

imported and there were 76,871

sales for a variance of 13,883.

Stock levels of new cars have

increased every month

except one this year, with

October’s total of 29,509 being the

highest of 2013.There were 7,962 sales last

month, also this year’s biggest

amount, while the variance was

1,400 with 9,362 units imported –

the second highest amount after

11,065 imports in August.

The total stock figure at the

end of December was 20,683 and

that dropped to this year’s low of

18,653 in January.

David Crawford, chief executive

officer of the Motor Industry

Association (MIA), says current

models aren’t sitting around in

stock for too long.

“The industry tends to manage

stock levels quite well and does this

day in, day out,” he told Autofile.

“My data suggests this is a

cyclical thing and levels were no

higher in previous years, but they

Industry manages levels well

Dealer stock of new cars in New Zealand - Oct 2013

2012 Imported NeW CArS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

MIA stock estimate as at end of December 2011 12,984

Jan ‘12 5,026 7,499 (2,473) 10,511 242 43

Feb ‘12 7,368 5,633 1,735 12,246 223 55

Mar ‘12 7,228 6,499 729 12,975 218 59

Apr ‘12 6,285 5,430 855 13,830 209 66

May ‘12 7,742 5,942 1,800 15,630 205 76

Jun ‘12 8,870 7,142 1,728 17,358 211 82

Jul ‘12 7,894 6,208 1,686 19,044 209 91

Aug ‘12 8,589 5,959 2,630 21,674 207 105

Sep ‘12 6,828 6,637 191 21,865 209 105

Oct ‘12 8,155 7,336 819 22,684 211 107

Nov ‘12 8,953 6,484 2,469 25,153 212 119

Dec ‘12 7,816 6,102 1,714 26,867 211 128

ytd total 90,754 76,871 13,883

2013 Imported NeW CArS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

Total stock at the end of December 2012 26,867

Jan ‘13 5,355 7,385 (2,030) 24,837 238 104

Feb ‘13 7,027 5,799 1,228 26,065 223 117

Mar ‘13 6,329 6,800 (471) 25,594 222 115

Apr ‘13 7,391 5,908 1,483 27,077 216 125

May ‘13 7,429 6,347 1,082 28,159 214 132

Jun ‘13 8,051 7,542 509 28,668 220 130

Jul ‘13 8,423 6,769 1,654 30,322 220 138

Aug ‘13 11,065 6,828 4,237 34,559 220 157

Sep ‘13 7,006 7,272 (266) 34,293 222 154

Oct ‘13 9,362 7,962 1,400 35,693 226 158

Nov ‘13 - - - - - -

Dec ‘13 - - - - - -

ytd total 77,438 68,612 8,826

2013 predicted sales 82,380

Dealer stock of used car imports in New Zealand - Oct 2013

2012 Imported USed ImportS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

Total stock at the end of December 2011 8,579

Jan ‘12 3,191 6,375 (3,184) 5,395 206 26

Feb ‘12 4,920 6,000 (1,080) 4,315 210 21

Mar ‘12 6,504 6,429 75 4,390 209 21

Apr ‘12 6,613 5,877 736 5,126 206 25

May ‘12 7,693 6,793 900 6,026 208 29

Jun ‘12 6,947 6,184 763 6,789 208 33

Jul ‘12 5,335 6,641 (1,306) 5,483 209 26

Aug ‘12 5,540 6,621 (1,081) 4,402 210 21

Sep ‘12 5,506 6,222 (716) 3,686 209 18

Oct ‘12 5,688 6,867 (1,179) 2,507 211 12

Nov ‘12 8,486 7,183 1,303 3,810 213 18

Dec ‘12 6,414 7,119 (705) 3,105 215 14

ytd total 72,837 78,311 (5,474)

2013 Imported USed ImportS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

Total stock at the end of December 2012 3105

Jan ‘13 4,468 7,397 (2,929) 176 239 0.7

Feb ‘13 8,247 6,922 1,325 1,501 243 6

Mar ‘13 8,852 7,581 1,271 2,772 243 11

Apr ‘13 10,539 7,418 3,121 5,893 244 24

May ‘13 10,967 8,460 2,507 8,400 250 34

Jun ‘13 8,089 7,862 227 8,627 252 34

Jul ‘13 8,623 9,629 (1,006) 7,621 261 29

Aug ‘13 8,635 8,648 (13) 7,608 263 29

Sep ‘13 7,501 7,615 (114) 7,494 262 29

Oct ‘13 10,374 8,545 1,829 9,323 263 35

Nov ‘13 - - - - - -

Dec ‘13 - - - - - -

ytd total 86,295 80,077 6,218

2013 predicted sales 96,145

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New Passenger Vehicle Sales by Make - November 2013

Make Nov '13 Nov '12 +/- % Nov '13

Mkt Share2013 total

2013 Mkt Share

Toyota 1746 1190 46.7 23.4% 14670 19.3%

Holden 685 673 1.8 9.2% 8102 10.7%

Ford 618 596 3.7 8.3% 6519 8.6%

Hyundai 572 624 -8.3 7.7% 6695 8.8%

Mazda 512 485 5.6 6.9% 5447 7.2%

Nissan 382 281 35.9 5.1% 3342 4.4%

Suzuki 376 405 -7.2 5.0% 4436 5.8%

Mitsubishi 351 272 29.0 4.7% 3661 4.8%

Honda 310 312 -0.6 4.2% 2994 3.9%

Volkswagen 288 261 10.3 3.9% 3527 4.6%

Kia 202 240 -15.8 2.7% 2563 3.4%

BMw 172 178 -3.4 2.3% 1861 2.4%

Subaru 165 153 7.8 2.2% 1645 2.2%

Audi 163 150 8.7 2.2% 1748 2.3%

Mercedes-Benz 128 82 56.1 1.7% 1398 1.8%

Peugeot 108 60 80.0 1.4% 1001 1.3%

Jeep 92 65 41.5 1.2% 775 1.0%

Ssangyong 86 49 75.5 1.2% 724 1.0%

Dodge 64 46 39.1 0.9% 478 0.6%

Skoda 63 56 12.5 0.8% 654 0.9%

Lexus 54 44 22.7 0.7% 508 0.7%

Land Rover 51 22 131.8 0.7% 443 0.6%

Mini 44 43 2.3 0.6% 474 0.6%

Chery 34 21 61.9 0.5% 351 0.5%

Alfa Romeo 24 31 -22.6 0.3% 182 0.2%

Great wall 23 38 -39.5 0.3% 211 0.3%

Fiat 21 2 950.0 0.3% 142 0.2%

Renault 21 8 162.5 0.3% 98 0.1%

Volvo 18 19 -5.3 0.2% 229 0.3%

Porsche 13 11 18.2 0.2% 182 0.2%

Citroen 12 16 -25.0 0.2% 286 0.4%

Jaguar 12 5 140.0 0.2% 128 0.2%

Chrysler 10 13 -23.1 0.1% 120 0.2%

Can-Am 9 6 50.0 0.1% 75 0.1%

Daihatsu 6 19 -68.4 0.1% 258 0.3%

Aston Martin 4 1 300.0 0.1% 25 0.0%

Maserati 4 2 100.0 0.1% 14 0.0%

Mahindra 3 - - 0.0% 6 0.0%

MG 2 0 200.0 0.0% 12 0.0%

Chrysler Jeep 1 - - 0.0% 1 0.0%

Mclaren 1 0 100.0 0.0% 6 0.0%

Others 3 5 -40.0 0.0% 71 0.1%

total 7453 6484 14.9 100.0% 76062 100.0%

New Passenger Vehicle Sales by Model - November 2013

Make Model Nov '13 Nov '12 +/- %Nov Mkt

Share2013

total2013 Mkt

Share

Toyota Corolla 626 462 35.5 8.4% 5283 6.9%

Toyota RAV4 289 80 261.3 3.9% 2521 3.3%

Holden Commodore 260 171 52.0 3.5% 2399 3.2%

Mazda Cx-5 239 141 69.5 3.2% 1989 2.6%

Toyota yaris 227 267 -15.0 3.0% 2235 2.9%

Suzuki Swift 218 254 -14.2 2.9% 2750 3.6%

Ford Mondeo 184 98 87.8 2.5% 1201 1.6%

Hyundai ix35 168 81 107.4 2.3% 1338 1.8%

Mitsubishi Lancer 168 84 100.0 2.3% 894 1.2%

Toyota Camry 168 131 28.2 2.3% 1270 1.7%

Holden Captiva 135 319 -57.7 1.8% 2039 2.7%

Volkswagen Golf 134 103 30.1 1.8% 1469 1.9%

Toyota Highlander 118 79 49.4 1.6% 1092 1.4%

Ford Focus 114 212 -46.2 1.5% 1429 1.9%

Honda Jazz 113 76 48.7 1.5% 922 1.2%

Ford Kuga 112 18 522.2 1.5% 952 1.3%

Mazda Mazda3 109 151 -27.8 1.5% 1537 2.0%

Toyota Aurion 107 23 365.2 1.4% 447 0.6%

Holden Cruze 106 80 32.5 1.4% 1925 2.5%

Hyundai Santa Fe 103 261 -60.5 1.4% 1847 2.4%

Honda Civic 100 115 -13.0 1.3% 852 1.1%

Mitsubishi Outlander 97 118 -17.8 1.3% 1258 1.7%

Hyundai i30 95 103 -7.8 1.3% 1255 1.6%

Nissan Qashqai 93 106 -12.3 1.2% 884 1.2%

Toyota Landcruiser Prado 87 38 128.9 1.2% 557 0.7%

Nissan x-Trail 86 52 65.4 1.2% 779 1.0%

Ford Territory 83 137 -39.4 1.1% 1188 1.6%

Volkswagen Tiguan 78 53 47.2 1.0% 689 0.9%

Hyundai Accent 77 29 165.5 1.0% 572 0.8%

Honda CRV 71 82 -13.4 1.0% 793 1.0%

Mazda Mazda6 70 82 -14.6 0.9% 960 1.3%

Mazda Mazda2 66 77 -14.3 0.9% 712 0.9%

Ford Falcon 65 45 44.4 0.9% 835 1.1%

Nissan Pathfinder 65 7 828.6 0.9% 191 0.3%

Dodge Journey 64 46 39.1 0.9% 476 0.6%

Jeep Grand Cherokee 64 39 64.1 0.9% 502 0.7%

Ssangyong Korando 63 36 75.0 0.8% 480 0.6%

Ford Fiesta 60 85 -29.4 0.8% 892 1.2%

Bmw 116i 59 13 353.8 0.8% 378 0.5%

Holden Malibu 58 - - 0.8% 334 0.4%

Others2254 2130 5.8 30.2% 25936 34.1%

total7453 6484 14.9 100.0% 76062 100.0%

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Ar

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Biggest increases/Decreases By town year-on-year

(OctOber 2013 vs OctOber 2012)

Biggest increases new Used

westport  100.0% Blenheim  95.5% thames  51.2% nelson  64.9% napier  34.1% rotorua  52.0%

Biggest decreases new Used

wanganui  27.7% westport  41.7% gisborne  26.8% Masterton  20.0% timaru  23.7% timaru  12.4%

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Used Vehicle RegistRatiOnsNorth IslaNd versus south IslaNd

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aucklaNd, wellINgtoN, chrIstchurch hamIltoN, tauraNga, duNedIN, PalmerstoN North

Used imPORt PassengeR Vehicle RegistRatiOns by city

october 2013

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Annual high for stockpileThe amount of stock held

by used car dealers during

October was the highest

monthly total of the year.

There were 10,374 units

imported last month with a

variance of 1,829 on 8,545 sales.

The number of cars in stock

amounted to 9,323 compared to

7,494 in September.

There have been two other

major increases during 2013 – with

variances between imports and sales

of 3,121 in April and 2,507 in May.

Graeme Macdonald, chairman

of the North Island branch of the

Imported Motor Vehicle Industry

Association, says the current

stockpile should correct itself – as it

normally does.“If the monthly stockpile was

10,000 on a regular basis it means

there are solid holding numbers,”

he told Autofile. “North of that

and we would be looking at an

oversupply issue.

“There was good buying in Japan

in March, and we saw high arrival

numbers in April, May and June.

“The stockpile occurs more at

certain times of the year. Since

I came back into the industry in

1996, it has ebbed and flowed.”

Used car stock levels are

traditionally based on what’s

happening in Japan and what

consumers are buying here.

Conditions there have improved

recently and the exchange rate

has gone up.“October and November are

normally difficult for the industry,

so the stockpile tends to go

up,” says Macdonald. “But trade

swings up over Christmas and the

holidays, so it goes down.

“December and January are

good months for sales because

people take time off work, the kids

are off school and people may have

Christmas bonuses or holiday pay.

“It’s a time when Kiwis tend to

make financial decisions, so dealers

need to have plenty of stock to

match demand.“When the market’s down in

Japan, stock is hard to get. When

it’s buoyant, you tend to buy what

you can because you don’t know

what will be available next time.

“Dealers also need to bear in

mind it takes four to six weeks to

get stock from Japan.”

Larger operations, of say 300

units, are more static with their

holding not changing too much.

A drop of 50 units may not be

too drastic. But stock can vary

enormously by proportion on yards

with 30 to 40 cars.

“They can suddenly be selling

without having bought for a few

weeks and being 10-15 units down

makes them more susceptible,”

says Macdonald.

“Dealers then jump online to

buy more from Japan, but that’s

always been the way.

“You can oversupply when

buying conditions are good, but

the marketplace normally corrects

itself by pulling back from Japan or

selling down. The numbers might

drop for a month or two before

trundling up again.

“There’s no magic supply-chain

miracle. When it’s slow, it tends to be

slow for everybody. If you can get

good supply with a good exchange

rate, everyone benefits.”

did come down after the global

financial crisis [GFC].

“Stocking levels then increased

again and they respond to the

number of new vehicles sold and

the rate at which they are sold.

“They basically go up when

sales go up, but I’m not so sure

about the days stock is held for

being longer and can’t explain that.

“Average sales per day came

down during the GFC and before

that they were much higher.”

If 80,000 vehicles are sold one

year and 100,000 are sold the

following year, the average sales

per day should be higher – and

the MIA is expecting more new

vehicles to be sold this year than

during 2012.There were 54,404 sales in 2009,

62,029 in 2010, 64,019 in 2011

and 76,871 in 2012, and the MIA is

predicting about 82,000 passenger

vehicle and SUV sales this year.

“We’re looking at about 30,600

light commercials and we’re on

track for 112,000 or 113,000 new

vehicle sales overall.”

Business confidence being

high and strong regional

economies in Auckland and

Christchurch are boosting sales.

“Trades people are upgrading

their vehicles,” says Crawford.

“Although passenger cars aren’t so

hot, SUVs are.“People in the housing market

are refinancing their mortgages

to buy big-ticket items especially

when they are confident about

keeping their jobs.”

All that said, some of the

regional centres, such as Hawke’s

Bay and Palmerston North, aren’t

showing as much growth as

other centres.“But 80 per cent of New Zealand’s

population is in Auckland and

Christchurch. “If you add in Dunedin and

Wellington, these centres cover a

large proportion of the population

and all have strong economies.”

Year to date, 77,438 new cars

have been imported and 68,612

have been registered to give a

variance of 8,826 so far this year.

Days with stock at hand has

been steadily increasing from 78 in

January to 131 in October.

Last year 90,754 units were

imported and there were 76,871

sales for a variance of 13,883.

Stock levels of new cars have

increased every month

except one this year, with

October’s total of 29,509 being the

highest of 2013.There were 7,962 sales last

month, also this year’s biggest

amount, while the variance was

1,400 with 9,362 units imported –

the second highest amount after

11,065 imports in August.

The total stock figure at the

end of December was 20,683 and

that dropped to this year’s low of

18,653 in January.

David Crawford, chief executive

officer of the Motor Industry

Association (MIA), says current

models aren’t sitting around in

stock for too long.

“The industry tends to manage

stock levels quite well and does this

day in, day out,” he told Autofile.

“My data suggests this is a

cyclical thing and levels were no

higher in previous years, but they

Industry manages levels well

Dealer stock of new cars in New Zealand - Oct 2013

2012 Imported NeW CArS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

MIA stock estimate as at end of December 2011 12,984

Jan ‘12 5,026 7,499 (2,473) 10,511 242 43

Feb ‘12 7,368 5,633 1,735 12,246 223 55

Mar ‘12 7,228 6,499 729 12,975 218 59

Apr ‘12 6,285 5,430 855 13,830 209 66

May ‘12 7,742 5,942 1,800 15,630 205 76

Jun ‘12 8,870 7,142 1,728 17,358 211 82

Jul ‘12 7,894 6,208 1,686 19,044 209 91

Aug ‘12 8,589 5,959 2,630 21,674 207 105

Sep ‘12 6,828 6,637 191 21,865 209 105

Oct ‘12 8,155 7,336 819 22,684 211 107

Nov ‘12 8,953 6,484 2,469 25,153 212 119

Dec ‘12 7,816 6,102 1,714 26,867 211 128

ytd total 90,754 76,871 13,883

2013 Imported NeW CArS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

Total stock at the end of December 2012 26,867

Jan ‘13 5,355 7,385 (2,030) 24,837 238 104

Feb ‘13 7,027 5,799 1,228 26,065 223 117

Mar ‘13 6,329 6,800 (471) 25,594 222 115

Apr ‘13 7,391 5,908 1,483 27,077 216 125

May ‘13 7,429 6,347 1,082 28,159 214 132

Jun ‘13 8,051 7,542 509 28,668 220 130

Jul ‘13 8,423 6,769 1,654 30,322 220 138

Aug ‘13 11,065 6,828 4,237 34,559 220 157

Sep ‘13 7,006 7,272 (266) 34,293 222 154

Oct ‘13 9,362 7,962 1,400 35,693 226 158

Nov ‘13 - - - - - -

Dec ‘13 - - - - - -

ytd total 77,438 68,612 8,826

2013 predicted sales 82,380

Dealer stock of used car imports in New Zealand - Oct 2013

2012 Imported USed ImportS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

Total stock at the end of December 2011 8,579

Jan ‘12 3,191 6,375 (3,184) 5,395 206 26

Feb ‘12 4,920 6,000 (1,080) 4,315 210 21

Mar ‘12 6,504 6,429 75 4,390 209 21

Apr ‘12 6,613 5,877 736 5,126 206 25

May ‘12 7,693 6,793 900 6,026 208 29

Jun ‘12 6,947 6,184 763 6,789 208 33

Jul ‘12 5,335 6,641 (1,306) 5,483 209 26

Aug ‘12 5,540 6,621 (1,081) 4,402 210 21

Sep ‘12 5,506 6,222 (716) 3,686 209 18

Oct ‘12 5,688 6,867 (1,179) 2,507 211 12

Nov ‘12 8,486 7,183 1,303 3,810 213 18

Dec ‘12 6,414 7,119 (705) 3,105 215 14

ytd total 72,837 78,311 (5,474)

2013 Imported USed ImportS SoLd VArIANCe StoCk

AVerAge SALeS per dAy - ytd

dAyS StoCk

At hANd

Total stock at the end of December 2012 3105

Jan ‘13 4,468 7,397 (2,929) 176 239 0.7

Feb ‘13 8,247 6,922 1,325 1,501 243 6

Mar ‘13 8,852 7,581 1,271 2,772 243 11

Apr ‘13 10,539 7,418 3,121 5,893 244 24

May ‘13 10,967 8,460 2,507 8,400 250 34

Jun ‘13 8,089 7,862 227 8,627 252 34

Jul ‘13 8,623 9,629 (1,006) 7,621 261 29

Aug ‘13 8,635 8,648 (13) 7,608 263 29

Sep ‘13 7,501 7,615 (114) 7,494 262 29

Oct ‘13 10,374 8,545 1,829 9,323 263 35

Nov ‘13 - - - - - -

Dec ‘13 - - - - - -

ytd total 86,295 80,077 6,218

2013 predicted sales 96,145

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Days stock in nZ - UseD import cars

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SPONSORSHIP OF THE NEW AND USED COMMERCIAL STATISTICS

PAGES IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR YOUR BUSINESSTARGETED ADVERTISING SPACE

SHOULDN’T WE BE LOOKING AT YOUR BUSINESS? For all enquiries contact Brian on 021 455 775 or email brian@autofi le.co.nz

34 | www.autofile.co.nz

www.autofile.co.nz | 35

UDC Finance Limited lending criteria applies.

Seal the deal with UDC.Ph 0800 500 832 or visit www.udc.co.nz

New Passenger Vehicle Sales by Make - November 2013Make Nov '13 Nov '12 +/- % Nov '13

Mkt Share 2013 total 2013 Mkt ShareToyota 1746 1190 46.7 23.4% 14670 19.3%Holden 685 673 1.8 9.2% 8102 10.7%Ford 618 596 3.7 8.3% 6519 8.6%Hyundai 572 624 -8.3 7.7% 6695 8.8%Mazda 512 485 5.6 6.9% 5447 7.2%Nissan 382 281 35.9 5.1% 3342 4.4%Suzuki 376 405 -7.2 5.0% 4436 5.8%Mitsubishi 351 272 29.0 4.7% 3661 4.8%Honda 310 312 -0.6 4.2% 2994 3.9%Volkswagen 288 261 10.3 3.9% 3527 4.6%Kia 202 240 -15.8 2.7% 2563 3.4%BMw 172 178 -3.4 2.3% 1861 2.4%Subaru 165 153 7.8 2.2% 1645 2.2%Audi 163 150 8.7 2.2% 1748 2.3%Mercedes-Benz 128 82 56.1 1.7% 1398 1.8%Peugeot 108 60 80.0 1.4% 1001 1.3%Jeep 92 65 41.5 1.2% 775 1.0%Ssangyong 86 49 75.5 1.2% 724 1.0%Dodge 64 46 39.1 0.9% 478 0.6%Skoda 63 56 12.5 0.8% 654 0.9%Lexus 54 44 22.7 0.7% 508 0.7%Land Rover 51 22 131.8 0.7% 443 0.6%Mini 44 43 2.3 0.6% 474 0.6%Chery 34 21 61.9 0.5% 351 0.5%Alfa Romeo 24 31 -22.6 0.3% 182 0.2%Great wall 23 38 -39.5 0.3% 211 0.3%Fiat 21 2 950.0 0.3% 142 0.2%Renault 21 8 162.5 0.3% 98 0.1%Volvo 18 19 -5.3 0.2% 229 0.3%Porsche 13 11 18.2 0.2% 182 0.2%Citroen 12 16 -25.0 0.2% 286 0.4%Jaguar 12 5 140.0 0.2% 128 0.2%Chrysler 10 13 -23.1 0.1% 120 0.2%Can-Am 9 6 50.0 0.1% 75 0.1%Daihatsu 6 19 -68.4 0.1% 258 0.3%Aston Martin 4 1 300.0 0.1% 25 0.0%Maserati 4 2 100.0 0.1% 14 0.0%Mahindra 3 - - 0.0% 6 0.0%MG 2 0 200.0 0.0% 12 0.0%Chrysler Jeep 1 - - 0.0% 1 0.0%Mclaren 1 0 100.0 0.0% 6 0.0%Others 3 5 -40.0 0.0% 71 0.1%total 7453 6484 14.9 100.0% 76062 100.0%

New Passenger Vehicle Sales by Model - November 2013Make Model Nov '13 Nov '12 +/- % Nov Mkt

Share2013

total2013 Mkt

ShareToyota Corolla 626 462 35.5 8.4% 5283 6.9%Toyota RAV4 289 80 261.3 3.9% 2521 3.3%Holden Commodore 260 171 52.0 3.5% 2399 3.2%Mazda Cx-5 239 141 69.5 3.2% 1989 2.6%Toyota yaris 227 267 -15.0 3.0% 2235 2.9%Suzuki Swift 218 254 -14.2 2.9% 2750 3.6%Ford Mondeo 184 98 87.8 2.5% 1201 1.6%Hyundai ix35 168 81 107.4 2.3% 1338 1.8%Mitsubishi Lancer 168 84 100.0 2.3% 894 1.2%Toyota Camry 168 131 28.2 2.3% 1270 1.7%Holden Captiva 135 319 -57.7 1.8% 2039 2.7%Volkswagen Golf 134 103 30.1 1.8% 1469 1.9%Toyota Highlander 118 79 49.4 1.6% 1092 1.4%Ford Focus 114 212 -46.2 1.5% 1429 1.9%Honda Jazz 113 76 48.7 1.5% 922 1.2%Ford Kuga 112 18 522.2 1.5% 952 1.3%Mazda Mazda3 109 151 -27.8 1.5% 1537 2.0%Toyota Aurion 107 23 365.2 1.4% 447 0.6%Holden Cruze 106 80 32.5 1.4% 1925 2.5%Hyundai Santa Fe 103 261 -60.5 1.4% 1847 2.4%Honda Civic 100 115 -13.0 1.3% 852 1.1%Mitsubishi Outlander 97 118 -17.8 1.3% 1258 1.7%Hyundai i30 95 103 -7.8 1.3% 1255 1.6%Nissan Qashqai 93 106 -12.3 1.2% 884 1.2%Toyota Landcruiser Prado 87 38 128.9 1.2% 557 0.7%Nissan x-Trail 86 52 65.4 1.2% 779 1.0%Ford Territory 83 137 -39.4 1.1% 1188 1.6%Volkswagen Tiguan 78 53 47.2 1.0% 689 0.9%Hyundai Accent 77 29 165.5 1.0% 572 0.8%Honda CRV 71 82 -13.4 1.0% 793 1.0%Mazda Mazda6 70 82 -14.6 0.9% 960 1.3%Mazda Mazda2 66 77 -14.3 0.9% 712 0.9%Ford Falcon 65 45 44.4 0.9% 835 1.1%Nissan Pathfinder 65 7 828.6 0.9% 191 0.3%Dodge Journey 64 46 39.1 0.9% 476 0.6%Jeep Grand Cherokee 64 39 64.1 0.9% 502 0.7%Ssangyong Korando 63 36 75.0 0.8% 480 0.6%Ford Fiesta 60 85 -29.4 0.8% 892 1.2%Bmw 116i 59 13 353.8 0.8% 378 0.5%Holden Malibu 58 - - 0.8% 334 0.4%Others2254 2130 5.8 30.2% 25936 34.1%total7453 6484 14.9 100.0% 76062 100.0%

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New Passenger registrations - 2012-2013

Industry news and analysis as it happenswww.autofi le.co.nz

dealer stock of imported used cars in new Zealand

2013USEd IMPortS

vArIANCE StoCkAvErAgE

SAlES PEr dAY - Ytd

dAYS StoCk

At hANdIMPortEd Sold

Total stock at the end of December 2012 3105

Jan ‘13 4,467 7,397 (2,930) 175 239 0.7

Feb ‘13 8,246 6,922 1,324 1,499 243 6

Mar ‘13 8,845 7,581 1,264 2,763 243 11

Apr ‘13 10,531 7,418 3,113 5,876 244 24

May ‘13 10,945 8,460 2,485 8,361 250 33

Jun ‘13 7,919 7,862 57 8,418 252 33

Jul ‘13 8,609 9,629 (1,020) 7,398 261 28

Aug ‘13 8,632 8,648 (16) 7,382 263 28

Sep ‘13 7,481 7,615 (134) 7,248 262 28

Oct ‘13 10,364 8,545 1,819 9,067 263 34

Nov ‘13 11,184 9,360 1,824 10,891 268 41

Dec ‘13 10,067 9,534 533 11,424 271 42

total sales in 2013 107,290 98,971 8,319

2014USEd IMPortS

vArIANCE StoCkAvErAgE

SAlES PEr dAY - Ytd

dAYS StoCk

At hANdIMPortEd Sold

Total stock at the end of December 2013 11,424

Jan ‘14 8,807 9,470 (663) 10,767 305 35

Feb ‘14 9,100 9,155 (55) 10,712 316 34

Mar ‘14 11,258 10,247 1,011 11,723 321 37

Apr ‘14 13,109 9,501 3,608 15,331 320 48

Ytd total 42,274 38,373 3,901

Predicted sales for 2014 116,718

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The number of used imported cars sold in New Zealand dropped

compared to the amount of units crossing the border in April.

The 13,109 imports last month stacked up against 9,501 registrations and the differences of 3,608 meant there were 15,331 units in stock at the start of this month.

This was the highest amount of used vehicles in stock for more than two years, with stock increasing by 30.7 per cent compared to the previous month.

The year-to-date total for imports is 42,280 with 38,373 first time registrations – a variance of 3,907.

The average sales per day now stand at 320, decreasing by one vehicle compared to March. The number of days’ stock in hand increased by 11 last month to 48 from 37 the previous month, making it the highest total for many months.

Peter ‘PJ’ Johnston, managing director of GVI in Penrose, Auckland, believes there is too much stock being imported.

“We’re selling about 150 cars a month, but in saying that we feel there’s an oversupply in the

overstretch, thinking they are going to make a quick buck. ”

“The compliance shop here is full with vehicles, and it’s taking six weeks to bring stock over from Japan.”

Despite this, Cameron believes the amount of stock being imported will slow down during the winter months.

He says Kiwi traders' margins have taken massive hits.

“The yen is so high and that will bring in traders thinking they are going to make a lot of money. I’ve seen a lot of dealers come and go.” he says.

“Many of them are selling the lower-grade cars on Trade Me, making between $400 and $500 per car.

“We’re lucky to make $1,000 dollars per car. GST is a lot higher and

Used stock at two year highmarket,” Johnston told Autofile.

“There has been a large increase in the number of motor vehicle traders and we have seen huge numbers of cars cross the border. We believe the market is coming into a glut situation.”

“We have seen trends like these before – what happens is you see a huge influx of stock being imported like this – then things get tough and dealers start discounting stock to get cash flow.”

Johnston says inexperienced younger traders are behind the ongoing surges.

John Cameron, of Hutt Wholesale Motors, says increase in stock held last month was caused by Easter, Anzac weekend, and the school holidays, all taking place during April.

“There is too much stock being imported, dealers are going to get burnt,” Cameron told Autofile.

“I remember this happening between 2006 and 2007 – the yen was 90 odd, then it dropped back to 42 – a lot of dealers went out of business. There’s a lot of stock around because of the yen being so high. A lot of dealers are fools to themselves and

mechanical repairs are costing more.”Cameron, who has been a

dealer since the ’70s attributes this to Turner’s Auctions focus on the retail market.

Johnny Feeney, sales consultant at Nigel Thompson Motor Company, says a glut is not evident in the Christchurch market, with stock usually selling within seven days.

“We’re not noticing the drop at all to be honest. We’re bringing about 100 cars per month and are seeing good sales numbers.”

He says the high volume of stock the dealership was importing meant dropping margins weren’t too much of an issue.

“The market is still looking strong heading into winter and we have lots of imports coming over.”

used car stock

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