Autofile: February 21

The trusted voice of the auto industry for more than 25 years www.autofile.co.nz

Issue 3-2014 21 February 2014

Car dealers’ safety net may be banned T

he Financial Services Federation (FSF) is urging the government to allow motor vehicle manufacturers, traders and lenders to hold spare sets of car keys after finance is approved for purchases.

The long-established practice could be banned under the Credit Contracts and Financial Services Reform Bill, which the government describes as the biggest overhaul of the sector for a decade.

Most of the proposals are aimed at cracking down on

unscrupulous lenders, particularly in the lower end of the market.

But in its present form, the legislation will affect how finance companies and car dealers go about their business – as revealed in the previous issue of Autofile.

The FSF has also raised concerns with other parts of the bill and is calling for Craig Foss, Minister of Consumer Affairs, to address them.

The federation submits there’s nothing wrong in principle with lenders and registered motor vehicle dealers holding duplicate

sets of keys from day one of loans.

“Doing so may facilitate subsequent repossession to the benefit of all concerned in terms of cost savings,” says executive director Lyn McMorran. “The use of keys should be regulated, not the custody of them.”

The issue is particularly important with car finance because manufacturers typically hold duplicate keys for their vehicles with many having outlets that provide point-of-sale finance for new stock.

The FSF questions if one section

N

performers was the automotive sector, with motor vehicle imports increasing by 29.3 per cent to 99,710 units from 77,122.

Volumes of break-bulk – or general – cargo, which is noncontainerised and includes cars, were up 41.9 per cent to 2.87m tonnes compared to 2.02m over the same timescale.

p6 Trader’s view on WOFs p9 IMVIA’s capital venture p10 Kia Soul EV unveiled p12 Spotlight on Hamilton p15 MTA’s take on Lumley p18 Buyer was ‘trying it on’

Specialised training to increase your sales Find out more on Page 17

[continued on page 4]

Vehicles boost profits at port ew Zealand’s booming motor vehicle industry is providing Ports of Auckland Ltd with a massive increase in business, as reflected in its half-yearly financial statement.

The company has announced a 70 per cent increase in profits for the six months up to December 31.

One of the port’s star

In this issue

“The motor vehicle numbers we’ve been experiencing have been very good,” Tony Gibson, chief executive officer, told Autofile.

“Having almost 100,000 units coming through the port in the second half of 2013 is a good sign – the economy seems to be really picking up.”

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editor’s note

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Getting fuelled up in the future

I

t’s often said that because New Zealand no longer manufactures as much stuff as it used to – such as motor vehicles – that this country is more of a technology taker than provider.

That’s not to knock what is made here or belittle how high in the innovation stakes we come.

But perhaps more could be done to prepare us for new technology before it actually arrives on our wharves inside cars, or powering them.

Latest statistics from the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (IMVIA) on what’s happening in Japan shouldn’t be underestimated.

The bottom line is that motorists in that country – the biggest source market for all vehicles crossing our border – are falling in love with hybrids.

Like it or not, the revolution there is in full swing and that will eventually impact on what can be sourced and brought over to be sold on yards here.

The IMVIA’s views are covered indepth online at www.autofile.co.nz.

Among the news is the fact that Toyota is leading the charge by announcing it will introduce 15 more hybrids in Japan over the next two years to complement its existing fleet.

The two best-sellers there last year were the Aqua and Prius, with the two hybrids making up almost 16 per cent of over-1,000cc registrations.

And the hybrid version of the new Honda Fit accounted for more than 70 per cent of the model’s sales in four months.

The massive rise in the popularity of hybrids in Japan appears to be coming at the expense of some tried and tested models on dealers’ yards here.

There were notable month-on-

month drops in market share for the Nissan Cube and Mazda Demio – both due to be replaced shortly – and sales of Suzuki’s Swift are decreasing.

Another gem of information was that the Nissan’s Leaf was the only pure electric vehicle (EV) to show up in the Japanese charts. It notched up 13,021 registrations in 2013, with a number arriving on these shores.

EVs are continuing to find their feet in New Zealand and their uptake will be slower than hybrids but where Australia leads, surely we can try to follow.

The Leaf scored a sales and exposure goal last year when the Lord Mayor of Sydney took delivery of 10 of the small hatchbacks.

The council’s purchase marked the largest single order of Leafs in Australia at the time and they joined four Mitsubishi i-MiEVs. They replaced a fleet of Toyota Prius petrol-electric hybrids because the use of zero-emission vehicles was seen as a wholesale gain in an urban environment.

Citizens can also make their own choices about what they drive because dozens of charging points have been installed in council car parks to overcome range anxiety.

It was also interesting to find out that EVs were a common thread at the IMVIA’s national executive meeting in Wellington, which was attended by cabinet members, government officials and representatives of motor vehicle industry associations.

Perhaps it’s time to realise that alternative ways of powering our cars are coming to New Zealand.

It’s already happening in other parts of the world – be that with hybrids, EVs or fuel-cell technology.

Darren Risby Editor

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news [continued from page 1]

Disabling devices under scrutiny of the bill, which defines these proposals, is intended to prevent marques, dealers and financiers from holding duplicate keys.

“Our members submit the cost to replace modern motor vehicle keys is significant,” says McMorran.

“This cost would be passed onto consumers and is one which will often need to be incurred by lenders if the clause is enacted without change.”

The issue is flagged up elsewhere in the bill, which states lenders must not “hold” keys or similar access devices until the goods have been repossessed.

With regard to holding duplicate keys – particularly by car finance companies – the FSF says that seems undesirable because:  It would prevent a debtor voluntarily giving the lender

the keys at the start of the repossession process, which may be sensible for the borrower to do.  There’s nothing wrong with a financier holding a duplicate set after a contract has been signed because this can facilitate repossession to the benefit of everyone concerned.

The FSF wants the word “hold” replaced with “use” in the relevant parts of the legislation to overcome some of the issues.

DEVICES TO BE REGULATED Disabling devices – including those fitted to vehicles – will be regulated under the bill.

Lenders may not activate one unless the borrower is in default, has been given reasonable notice

it will be activated and advised how to prevent this.

They must not be connected to, or used with, essential Part of the Credit Contracts household goods and important and Financial Services Law Reform documents, and devices will be Bill covers devices that disable goods. defined by having functions “A contract may not provide for that warn debtors repayments keys or other devices to be held by the are overdue, prevent goods creditor prior to repossession,” it states. from being used and limit When a contract states the creditor their use. has security over the goods, they Their other functions include must be identified in the contract enabling creditors to locate – and to what the device is goods and achieving beneficial connected and what the right outcomes for lenders. to activate it is.

While the FSF is sympathetic to disabling devices being regulated, McMorran says it’s Financial Services Reform “odd the regime being proposed Bill will result in responsible is different to repossessions lending principles being generally”. introduced.

GUIDELINES FOR LENDING The FSF already has a set of The Credit Contracts and guidelines for its members, which 

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news

At a glance

arrears or repossession action,” explains McMorran.

The loan-shark law changes “This provides bad include lenders taking responsibility customers with the for the likely effect of their credit. They ability to have the loan will only be able to provide loans to without paying for it. meet borrowers’ needs and repayments This disadvantages all shouldn’t cause substantial hardship. consumers because good Companies may be banned for ones are paying for those irresponsible lending and there will be who abuse the system.” tighter controls on misleading adverts.

It is in financiers’ Repossession will be banned unless interests to help customers specified in the paperwork, while agents

Paying arrears The proposed legislation says creditors must give debtors time to remedy defaults.

“A creditor may repossess goods [for] which a repossession warning notice has been served unless the period for remedying the default has expired and the debtor has failed to remedy [it].”

This will also be the case if the debtor has returned the goods or reinstated the agreement by paying any arrears.

 detail what responsible behaviour entails, and the principles in the bill largely match up with them.

But the federation says lenders being required to help borrowers be aware of the “full” implications of contracts could create issues by being too broad and onerous for the financier.

The FSF would like the period for developing the code after the legislation is passed to be one year – not two – to give lenders clarity.

The federation and its members have also offered to help government officials to develop it.

SYSTEM OPEN TO ABUSE Under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act as it stands, borrowers are unable to lodge hardship applications when in default but that’s set to change.

The FSF warns New Zealand must avoid replicating Australia’s system, which is abused.

“If borrowers in Australia claim hardship, lenders must suspend

traders and point-of-sale retailers as lenders.

It also says dealers, by being classed as lenders, will have to publish loan terms, borrowing costs, and information on repayment waivers and extended warranties.

The proposals include lenders and traders being banned from charging commission on insurance if people have no

“FSF members abhor irresponsible behaviour in the sector to which they frequently bear witness.” – Lyn McMorran through short-term hardship so loans are fully repaid.

“The provider secures payments by dealing with hardship situations effectively for both parties,” she says.

“Repossession is a last resort.

More often than not, it results in recovering less than the debt owed, leaving the borrower with a residual obligation.”

The FSF has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the NZ Federation of Family Budgeting Services.

This requires its members to refer on clients when they recognise borrowers may be under financial stress and heading towards hardship.

The Motor Trade Association is supporting the submission made by the FSF, while three other areas of concern to car dealers have previously been highlighted

by Autofile.

One issue is the bill defining

choice but to buy policies from one provider.

McMorran told Autofile: “The Commerce Committee is due to report back in March, so we will see what difference our submissions have made then.”

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of responsible behaviour are prevented from preying on the vulnerable.

“Enforcement will need to be stepped up on the enactment of this bill.”

She adds there is some “horrendously irresponsible behaviour” in parts of the market, including unjustifiably high interest rates and fees charged by some providers.

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‘PREYING ON VULNERABLE’ On one hand, the government says its loan-shark laws will better protect borrowers from lenders, especially at the lower end of the market.

On the other, FSF members – which provide finance, investment, banking and insurance services to more than one million Kiwis – already take compliance seriously.

“They abhor irresponsible behaviour in the sector to which they frequently bear witness,” says McMorran.

“The FSF believes enforcement is key to ensuring firms that don’t adhere to high standards

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news

Vehicles revenue boost profits

D

etails about Trade Me’s acquisition of MotorWeb have been published in its half-year financial report.

Overall, it shows revenue increasing by seven per cent year-onyear to $85.7 million, while net profits went up by two per cent to $38m.

Jon Macdonald, chief executive officer, says the classifieds division, which includes vehicles, performed well in the six months to December 31 with revenue growth of 17 per cent.

Trade Me Motors has been strengthened by acquiring MotorWeb, the vehicle information authority.

“MotorWeb is an excellent fit given its great reputation and strong expertise in data,” says Macdonald.

“There’s a lot of potential around broadening and deepening products we provide

for buyers and sellers of vehicles.”

MotorWeb was acquired through a combination of asset and share purchases on December 20.

Trade Me paid $19.5m for its assets, which included goodwill of $11.7m, software valued at $7.8m and $71,000 worth of

statement would have included extra revenue of $4.2m with no significant profit change.

The company describes the cost of the buy-out as “modest” and “a clean purchase at an attractive multiple”, with “earnings accretive, funded from cash”.

Its addition has been positive for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, but it has increased Trade Me’s expenses and reduced margins.

Trade Me Motors’ total revenue was up by 16 per cent year-onyear, which was led by dealer

“There’s a lot of potential around broadening and deepening products we provide for buyers and sellers of vehicles.” – Jon Macdonald, Trade Me property, plant and equipment.

MotorWeb has had no significant impact on revenue or profit, but had the takeover happened at the start of the reporting period, Trade Me’s consolidated income

It says MotorWeb is strategically aligned with its customers, the industry and for data giving it an opportunity to “strengthen connectivity”, and grow revenue and earnings in a growing market.

revenue and premium uptake.

Listing volumes grew by 1.8 per cent and it’s expected this will remain flat. Direct listings rose by 0.8 per cent and those placed by dealers increased by 3.5 per cent.

Letter to the Editor

Decision ‘oversteps’ jurisdiction WE TRANSPORT • MOTOR VEHICLES • FARM TRACTORS

p: 0800 4 JEFFS e: vehicles: service@jeffs.co.nz pleasure craft: boats@jeffs.co.nz w: www.jeffs.co.nz

• MACHINERY • AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT • CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT • PLEASURE CRAFT • CONTAINERS

OTHER SERVICES • VEHICLE STORAGE • VEHICLE DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT • HANDLING OF RARE AND RACE CARS • FILMING PROJECTS • ENCLOSED TRANSPORTERS • M.A.F & CUSTOMS FACILITIES • SECURITY & CONFIDENTIALITY

I write in reference to the story in the February 10, 2014, issue of Autofile headlined “traders responsible for WOFs”.

The issue of warrants of fitness covered in this article has previously been subject to appeal in the district court.

The applicant (end user/buyer) claimed the respondent (dealer) was responsible for a seat-belt standards error. A new WOF had been issued and the seat belt had an incorrect standard.

The respondent lost at the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal but appealed. The argument given was the dealer was no different to any person or organisation presenting a vehicle for a WOF.

He argued he was entitled to rely on the WOF-issuing agent to correctly test the subject vehicle and pass or fail it.

The act merely requires the WOF must be properly issued and be no

older than 28 days at the time of sale.

A seller complies if the vehicle is presented for inspection by a properly authorised inspection centre.

The responsibility for a poor and incorrect inspection lies technically with the NZTA in the first instance, and then the issuing agent and inspector. The district court judge agreed and the appeal was successful.

This precedent is common sense really – the inspection is technical and the inspection manual is a significant document with strict training, audit and equipment criteria.

Any person presenting a vehicle for a WOF at a properly authorised centre must be able to rely on the inspection carried out.

The tribunal referee in this matter covered by Autofile, in my view, has overstepped his jurisdiction.

Arthur Murray, Hatchback Autos, Kelston, Auckland

Email your letters, news and views to editor@autofile.co.nz. Please include your full name and

6 | www.autofile.co.nz

daytime contact details.



news 

Yield in the motors division increased from ongoing premium products and dealer price increases.

Dealer yield jumped by 23.3 per cent compared to a direct yield rise of 9.2 per cent.

When it came to premium spend, the average spend per dealer was $288 a month, a yearon-year increase of 38 per cent.

Macdonald says this part of the business delivered innovation with improvements to selling processes, DealerBase, the boats category and new premium products.

Future growth levers include product enhancements – sell process and data – yield opportunities with premium products and people with account management and technology, while there has been some promotional and trade spend.

Overall, Trade Me’s expenses were up by 19 per cent year-on-year.

“This is a hefty increase, but it’s necessary for us to properly convert on the opportunities and position the business for the longer term,” says Macdonald.

The main contributors to the increase were people and marketing, with about 350 staff now employed.

“Trade Me has embarked on a period of reinvestment in the business with slow growth in shortterm earnings as costs rise faster than revenue. We are convinced this is the right approach.”

More than half of website visits in January came from mobile devices and Macdonald expects strong growth to continue.

“We’ve put an enormous amount of work into making Trade Me a great experience across tablets and smart phones,” he says.

“E-commerce trends, the migration of advertising revenue to online and growth in online retail are in our favour.

“We expect stronger profit growth as we roll out products, phase in yield improvements in classifieds and increase activity in general items.

“However, we expect to talk about mobile less rather than more as it becomes completely ingrained in the business, rather

Todd Hunter, CEO of Turners Auctions

than separate to our websites.”

Trade Me intends to pay a dividend of 7.6 cents per share, which it says is consistent with its policy of having payments based on about 80 per cent of net profit after tax.

FLEET BOOST FOR TURNERS Turners Auctions has beaten its own profits forecast and, in doing so, now accounts for about 10 per cent of New Zealand’s used vehicle market.

Net profit rose by 14 per cent to $4.8 million in its 2013 financial year – better than its November estimate of about 10 per cent – while revenue went up by the same proportion to $89.2m.

Revenue from Turners’ higher margin fleet division surged by 30 per cent to $46.9m, but auction revenues fell by one per cent to $36.3m.

Finance revenue rose by 10 per cent to $6m with more people buying cars using consumer finance via the BuyNow service, which boosted its loan book by 20 per cent to $25.6m, while CashNow posted a 56 per cent rise in sales to 7,444.

“There was more focus on end-of-life and damaged vehicles, which accounted for six per cent of 2013’s purchases, but there was an increase in the cost of sales with stock levels growing,” says Todd Hunter, chief executive officer.

“There was a 61 per cent increase in purchases of imported vehicles in 2013 as demand recovered.

“Auction revenues were in line with the previous year, with operating profit impacted

by IT investment and one‐off restructure costs.

“Growth in car, truck and machinery revenue offset a drop in damaged vehicle sales.”

Hunter says about 1.3 million used vehicles are sold every year, and Turners is aiming to grow its market share by creating more channels to source and sell them.

“The fleet business will be grown through CashNow to target running and end-of-life vehicles, and improve sales conversion.”

He says BuyNow is a “oneon-one method of sale, which

increases our opportunity to sell add‐on finance and insurance”.

Nine per cent of Turners’ total vehicle sales were through this channel during the 2013 financial year compared to five per cent in 2012.

The company is regularly selling more than 1,000 items per week on Trade Me, while its revamped website was launched in April and is optimised for smart devices and is delivering growth in user traffic – unique browsers in 2013 were up 22 per cent to 1.9m.

With the changing environment, Turners predicts more mobile devices be used to access the web, rising infrastructure costs, vendors pushing for higher yields and a fleet that continues to age exacerbated by emissions regulations.

As first reported online at www. autofile.co.nz, the company’s second half-year was better than the first six months for a final dividend of nine cents per cent and a financial year pay-out of 16 cents.

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www.autofile.co.nz | 7

news [continued from page 1]

Master-plan to cope with cars The company has implemented a master-plan to cope with rising freight demand, including cars.

This has involved consolidating the handling of containers to the east at the Fergusson terminal and turning Bledisloe into a multipurpose terminal.

Bledisloe is now used extensively for all kinds of break-bulk, including cars and other vehicles – plus the occasional container ship.

“This has given us much better flexibility and has meant we are better able to cope with the relentless increase in vehicle numbers,” explains Gibson.

“Captain Cook Wharf was our main berth for roll-on, roll-off vessels and used for car storage, along with Marsden Wharf, but this is now complimented by the more frequent use of berths at Bledisloe and Jellicoe.”

The port’s unaudited net

Trans Future 5

Three roll-on, roll-off vessels discharging cars at Ports of Auckland at, from left, Captain Cook, Bledisloe and Jellicoe wharves

“We are now better able to cope with the relentless increase in vehicle numbers.” – Tony Gibson profit after tax increased to $26.4 million for the second half of 2013 compared to $15.5m in the same period of 2012 – as first reported

Voyage 72

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Voyage 7

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Trans Future 6

Voyage 69

osaka 24 Feb, Nagoya 25 Feb, kawasaki 1 Mar, auckland 20 Mar, lyttelton 22 Mar, wellington 24 Mar, Nelson 25 Mar

8 | www.autofile.co.nz

online at www.autofile.co.nz.

The half-year results will see an interim dividend of $20.94m going to Auckland Council Investments Ltd, which compares to $11.56m for the same period of 2012.

It aims to provide 12 per cent return on equity and Gibson says it isn’t far off that target, but he doesn’t expect this financial year’s second half to be as strong as the first.

Earnings before interest and taxes for port operations went up 47.1 per cent to $40.4m.

Total container volumes increased by 15.1 per cent to 476,333 20-foot equivalent units from 413,884, full import containers were 19.9 per cent higher and full exports rose by 12.9 per cent.

Operating costs, excluding

depreciation, rose by just 4.6 per cent to $56.8m despite the lift in freight volumes and the record number of containers handled in the six months to December 31.

Gibson says: “Productivity has improved since we started restructuring in 2011, which has enabled us to take advantage of an improving economy and Auckland’s growth.”

Since 2011, the company has reorganised its management structure, improved container handling and technology, and 60 per cent of stevedores are now working a flexible shift and roster system.

“Looking ahead, we’re focusing on developing our leaders, increasing opportunities for women and investing in the training,” he adds.

“This year has started well with volumes holding up. As as a result, we recently announced investment to support growth – a larger tug to handle bigger ships and two straddle carriers for rising container numbers.”

Gibson says there’s pressure on ports to become more efficient because supply and demand imbalances are driving down freight rates and hurting big shipping companies.

The port’s next development will be introducing a new terminal management system in July.

This will create a platform for the later introduction of new technology, such as optical recognition to identify containers at crane level and at the port’s gate.

Growth to be explored

A

utomotive Holdings Group (AHG), which owns dealerships in Auckland, made record profits in the last six months of 2013.

Its half-yearly profit was A$38.4 million (NZ$41.59m), which was up 1.3 per cent on the same period in 2012 and came on the back of A$2.32 billion in revenue.

Revenue from vehicle retail operations increased by A$1.916b,

with profits rising by 11 per cent to A$68m.

Managing director Bronte Howson says: “We will continue to explore other opportunities that meet our growth and financial criteria.”

AMG owns the John Andrew and North Harbour Ford and Mazda franchises in Auckland, and last year acquired Manukau’s Davie Motors Holden, which is now also a Nissan dealership.

news

Industry issues on the agenda

T

he future roll-out of electric vehicles (EVs) was one of the “common threads” discussed at an Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (IMVIA) two-day meeting attended by politicians, government officials and automotive organisations.

Michael Woodhouse, the Associate Minister of Transport, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett and Julie Anne Genter, the Greens’ transport spokesperson, were among those who met with the association’s six-strong national executive in Wellington earlier this month.

“We had very high expectations of the benefits of moving the national executive meeting to the capital and those were exceeded,” says David Vinsen, chief executive of the IMVIA. “It was all about relationships, structures and how everything operates. It was a chance for people and organisations to understand each other’s differences and where they’re at on different issues.

“We also discussed how to handle those differences and deal with them, while acknowledging the fact we agree to disagree.”

The subject of EVs was on the agenda over the two days.

“EVs were one common thread and we had lively discussions about them,” Vinsen told Autofile.

“This covered what the general issues are – such as safety, market share, power, logistics and infrastructure – and the fact the government’s revenues are likely to go down due to lower fuel sales.”

However, Vinsen believes the introduction of EVs and vehicles with other alternative fuel sources will happen “by default”

Phone Kim Dwyer on 021 595 124 Freephone 0800 808 058 or visit avantifinance.co.nz

Around the table, from left, are the IMVIA’s Frank Willett, David Vinsen, Alistair Sheard, Lloyd Wilson, Graeme Macdonald and Nick Owens

in New Zealand and “we will be constrained by what’s available in Japan”.

The Ministry of Transport’s chief executive officer, Martin Matthews, Leo Mortimer, manager of land transport safety, and Lee McKenzie, team leader on the electronic stability control project, attended.

Geoff Dangerfield, CEO of the NZTA, and its national manager of direction Leigh Mitchell also went along, as did Terry Collins, general manager of products of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.

“In regards to people from the government, it was about discussing what they had

Michael Woodhouse

Associate Minister of Transport

Geoff Dangerfield CEO of the NZTA

Paula Bennett

“It was a good indication of how the motor vehicle industry has evolved and how relationships have matured.”

– David Vinsen, IMVIA

Julie Anne Genter

Martin Matthews

Social Development Minister

Greens’ transport spokesperson

CEO of the Ministry of Transport

Terry Collins

Rob MacGregor

David Crawford

EECA’s general manager of products

MTA CEO

CEO of the MIA

planned and their view of the industry,” explains Vinsen.

“There was also an exchange of views and it was a chance to build relationships.”

Other attendees were David Crawford, CEO of the Motor Industry Association, Mike Noon, the AA’s general manager of motoring affairs and senior policy analyst Mark Stockdale, and Motor Trade Association president David Storey and CEO Rob MacGregor.

“It was a constructive meeting,” says Vinsen. “It was a good indication of how the motor vehicle industry has evolved, how the IMVIA has developed and how relationships have matured.”

The association’s executive and Vinsen spent February 11 and 12 in the capital – and it was the first time in about 12 years they had met in Wellington.

“At the moment, we have two-monthly national executive meetings and they roughly rotate between Auckland and Christchurch,” he says.

“Overall, it was very useful for all parties. I hope we will look to do this more frequently than every 12 years in the future.”

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new cars

From electric to ‘heart pounding’ T

he Kia Soul EV – the Korean manufacturer’s first massmarket electric car – has been unveiled to the world.

It’s scheduled to go on sale in the third quarter of 2014 in the US, with Europe following. It will cost about NZ$50,000 in the UK with the marque here putting its hands up for the model.

The EV, which made its debut at Chicago Motor Show, uses a 27kWh lithium-ion polymer battery with an energy density of 200Wh/kg. It should yield a fully charged range of about 130160km of real-world driving.

Kia’s regenerative braking system captures up to 12 per cent of its kinetic energy, which feeds into the battery while coasting and braking.

The car plugs into 120 and 240-volt charging points, with times varying from 24 hours for a depleted battery on a 120-volt outlet to less than five hours with 240 volts. An 80 per cent charge can be achieved in 33 minutes with a 50kW-output charger.

The Soul EV has an 81.4kW electric motor. The liquid-cooled AC synchronous permanent magnet motor delivers power to the front wheels through a single-speed constant-ratio gear reduction unit.

Acceleration from 0-100kph should take less than 12 seconds with the top speed limited to about 145kph. It has a virtualengine sound system that sends out audible alerts below 19kph and when reversing.

The platform accepts battery packs

under the rear seats, which means little of the Soul’s 354-litre boot space has been sacrificed. This does, however, create a weight penalty of about 200kg over standard cars.

The EV gets its own design of 16-inch alloys with super-low rolling resistance tyres with 10 per cent less resistance than standard ones.

The cabin has environmentally friendly materials. Bio-based plastics derived from cellulose and sugar cane are used in many places, such as the door panels, seat trim, roof pillars and carpeting.

Another major attraction in Chicago was Toyota’s racing-car inspired FT-1 concept. It was first devised by Calty Design Research in the PlayStation game Gran Turismo.

It has what the marque calls a “function sculpting” design language shaped by the wind into a “muscle-body form”. At higher speeds, a retractable rear wing tilts forward for extra downforce.

The front-engine rear-wheeldrive configuration locates the cockpit rearward for better weight distribution, which helps create sports-car proportions.

The wraparound windshield and side glass openings are nods from Toyota’s 2000GT of 1967 to the Celica, Supra, MR2 and 86. There’s an F1-inspired steering wheel, while a delta-shaped display zone surrounds and integrates the driver.

Kia’s Soul EV

The FT-1 follows global president Akio Toyoda’s directive for more emotional car designs displaying energy, passion and “waku-doki” – “a palpable heartpounding sense of excitement”.

Meanwhile, Subaru chose Chicago to unveil its 2015 Legacy. It’s the same size externally as the 2014 model, but is the roomiest yet with the largest passenger compartment in the mid-size segment.

All-wheel-drive and the flat 2.5-litre four-cylinder and 3.6-litre six-cylinder engines return. But the marque has improved fuel economy with active front-grille shutters, better aerodynamics and continuously variable automatic transmissions.

Handling is aided by a faster ratio steering and electronic torque vectoring that applies the brake to the inside front wheel in turns.

SPEED IN MOTOR CITY BMW chose the show in Detroit to

launch some new models, including the M3 sedan and M4 coupé.

Compared with predecessors, they deliver better performance with a high-revving, straight six-cylinder engine with M TwinPower Turbo technology for 317kW/431hp.

Their suspensions and drivetrains are precision tuned to the engine’s performance characteristics, while lighter weight is achieved with a one-piece driveshaft made of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic to reduce rotating mass for better acceleration.

From a V12 S Class to a winged Smart car, Mercedes-Benz was determined not to be outdone and unveiled its “pure” all-electric model.

First shown in 2012, the B Class was heralded as a “no compromises” luxury EV that didn’t sacrifice seating or space.

Back then, the B Class Electric Drive’s 134hp motor was said  to deliver a 200km range and

Toyota’s FT-1 concept

10 | www.autofile.co.nz

new cars

The 2015 Chrysler 200

 recharging times of about an hour with a supercharger.

It aims to occupy the space between Nissan’s Leaf and the pricier Tesla Model S. The all-new all-wheel-drive 2015 Chrysler 200 revealed the marque’s fresh styling “face”.

The mid-size sedan has a ninespeed automatic transmission with the option of a 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 engine or standard 2.4-litre MultiAir2 Tigershark.

The grille and headlamps are integrated for the first time and the updated Chrysler badge has an emphasis on the wing.

The exterior lighting

Subaru’s 2015 Legacy

Mercedes-Benz’s B Class Electric Drive

configuration apparently gives the 200 a “distinctive and recognisable look coming and going”.

COMING UP IN GENEVA The diesel variant of the Jeep Cherokee with its nine-speed automatic transmission will make its world premiere at next month’s Geneva Motor Show.

The turbo-diesel is available in two versions offering a choice of

170 or 140hp outputs with 350Nm of torque.

The 170hp version of the two-litre engine is coupled with the ninespeed automatic gearbox, while the 140hp unit has a six-speed manual.

Both two-litre versions have stopstart technology to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

Available in two and fourwheel-drive, the new Cherokee is the first mid-size SUV to have

rear-axle disconnect. This reduces friction and energy loss when fourby-four capability isn’t needed.

Inside, the seven-inch fullcolour instrument cluster allows the driver to have a customised experience for receiving information and vehicle feedback.

Standard safety features include seven airbags, electronic stability control with roll-over mitigation, and ABS with on and off-road calibration.

Options include forward collision warning-plus, park assist, adaptive cruise control-plus, blindspot monitoring and rear crosspath detection.

Supply to be unaffected

T

oyota New Zealand will continue to source the Camry and Aurion from Toyota Motor Corporation Australia (TMCA) until 2017, which is when the marque will call time on making cars across the ditch.

The company imported 1,352 Camrys and 455 Aurions from Australia last year, with the two models accounting for about 11 per cent of Toyota’s 16,182 passenger vehicle sales here during 2013.

“Future mid-size sedans will continue to be supplied from a source to be determined,” says Alistair Davis, chief executive of Toyota NZ. Alternative source markets for the Camry and Aurion have yet to be identified and it’s against company policy “to discuss future model planning four years ahead”, adds Davis, who is also a nonexecutive board member of TMCA. However, he says stock-holding policies here will not be reviewed, while there will be no effect on the supply of parts for and the

servicing of Toyotas made in Australian and sold here pre- and post-manufacturing there.

Toyota’s exit for car making across the Tasman will result in about 2,500 people losing their jobs, with the decision coming after Holden and Ford announced they were also pulling the plug over the next three years.

Its AU$330 million Altona engine plant, which was commissioned last year, will close while its specialist technical and design centre in Melbourne, which supports Toyota’s global operations, may be scaled back.

The company puts its exit down to the unfavourable Aussie dollar making exports unviable, high manufacturing costs and low economies of scale for production.

Meanwhile, Ford may cut its line rate at Broadmeadows, Victoria, to 80 units a day in June as it realigns production to the dwindling demand for its Australian-built vehicles.

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We are looking for someone who has shown they can succeed in sales. That person must have good communication skills, be customer orientated and be able to find a solution to customer needs.

In return we will provide a good base salary, company car plus competitive commission structure, but the sky is the limit. And best of all you’ll get to live in sunny Nelson!

Bowater Hyundai is a leading Nelson business who has been in business for 65 years. We need to increase our sales team, could that person be you?

If this sounds interesting then email me your CV today chris@bowatermotors.co.nz

www.autofile.co.nz | 11

regional report

More than a cow-bell town T

here’s a perception of Hamilton being a “cowbell town” but dairying is only one aspect of the region’s economy, which includes food and high-tech manufacturing, forestry and wood production.

Waikato Chamber of Commerce also says it’s the most important mineral-producing area in New Zealand – and these sectors combined account for 8.5 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Sandra Perry, chief executive officer, says: “The manufacturing and engineering sectors continue to grow, particularly larger companies that have secured new contracts.”

She says the business community’s general sentiments are positive and optimistic after a tough couple of years.

“We have a population younger than the national average and we’re well-positioned as a region to support the business and housing overflow from Auckland.”

Waikato is, however, the country’s largest dairying region and as Fonterra boosted its pay-outs last

Job opportunities Mary-Anne Martin, pictured, a business manager with the Motor Trade Association, says repairers in the Waikato generally have busy workshops at the moment.

“Some are busier than others. Those not doing so well could probably look at their pricing structures.”

Martin says collision repairers are facing uncertainty as they prepare for changes from insurers that could hurt their businesses.

“Some are also expressing concern about where the future technicians are coming from. They are reiterating too few young people are coming into the trade.”

Overall, the Waikato has a lower educational attainment than the rest of the country with some communities experiencing high levels of social deprivation, a report on its economy shows.

12 | www.autofile.co.nz

year, car sales drove up as well.

New car sales totalled 5,258 last year. This was a 13 per cent increase on 2012, putting it ahead of the rest of the country by six per cent on average.

There were 6,052 used imports sold, up by 27 per cent on 2012 and one per cent above the national average.

“The high sales have been instigated by the rural sector,” says Andrew Unternährer, general sales manager of Ebbett Prestige, Hamilton.

“There’s a renewed confidence in the building sector. It had been quiet for the past few years, but it seems to have come right.”

He believes Auckland’s rising property prices may benefit Waikato because housing there is more affordable.

“It’s becoming a more desirable place to live and there’s potential for a large amount of growth.”

The region’s population grew by six per cent since 2006 according to the 2013 census, taking its head count up 22,815 to 403,638.

Unternährer has also seen Hamilton transition into a

Used car sales for Hamilton

Shaune Carruthers, of Waikato Toyota in Te Awamutu, with a happy customer and her new 86

market with bigger dealerships.

“I don’t think we’ll see the days of a large number of smaller dealerships again,” he says.

“Economies of scale mean larger groups are more viable, while big margins have gone.”

Grant Chapman, of 4Guys Autobarn, told Autofile: “There are tonnes of developments going on in Hamilton, such as the new velodrome and the national cycleway coming through here.”

“We have the farming industry and we’re a go-to city. We get a lot of people from the surrounding towns coming in.”

Euan Means, dealer principal at

Vehicle sales in city - Jan 2013 to Jan 2014

- Jan 2013 to Jan 2014

Trader to Public

Public to Public

Public to Trader

Total

Jan ‘13

1131

2854

1285

5270

Feb ‘13

1077

2934

1263

5274

20.4%

55.6%

23.9%

Mar ‘13

1129

2977

1277

5383

21.0%

55.3%

23.7%

Apr ‘13

1295

2898

1361

5554

23.3%

52.2%

May ‘13

1210

3271

1503

5984

20.2%

54.7%

Trader to Public %

Ingham Hyundai, says business has tripled since 2012 and he’s hoping to top that by 20 per cent in 2014.

“I’ve been in Hamilton for a year and the big driver is all dealers do an exceptionally good job,” he says.

“I’ve never heard of a customer having a bad experience with another dealer here.”

Means believes low house prices make it more affordable for younger families to go out and purchase a new car.

“There’s a young population that has more disposable income.

If I had to guess, our customers are 20 years younger than the clients I  had in Taranaki.”

Public to Public to Public % Trader %

Used cars

New Cars Used Comms New Comms

Jan ‘13

443

429

36

232

Feb ‘13

483

412

31

166

Mar ‘13

514

498

30

247

Apr ‘13

448

414

29

217

24.5%

May ‘13

502

433

45

284

25.1%

Jun ‘13

484

516

35

340

Jul ‘13

583

474

44

287

Aug ‘13

509

429

36

248

Sept ‘13

460

465

24

267

Jun ‘13

1036

2931

1241

5208

19.9%

56.3%

23.8%

Jul ‘13

1356

3347

1602

6305

21.5%

53.1%

25.4%

Aug ‘13

1223

3208

1514

5945

20.6%

54.0%

25.5%

Oct ‘13

495

424

31

274

Sept ‘13

1184

2832

1425

5441

21.8%

52.0%

26.2%

Nov ‘13

546

441

37

240

Dec ‘13

585

323

30

172

Jan ‘14

655

565

29

215

12 month total

6264

Oct ‘13

1251

2953

1527

5731

21.8%

51.5%

26.6%

Nov ‘13

1091

3088

1378

5557

19.6%

55.6%

24.8%

Dec ‘13

1035

2886

1321

5242

19.7%

55.1%

25.2%

Jan ‘14

1203

2911

1366

5480

22.0%

53.1%

14090

36236

16778

67104

21.0%

54.0%

Annual total Increase on Jan 2013

5394

401

2957

24.9%

NZ sales - past 101044 12 months

83341

6292

31188

25.0%

% of national sales

6.2%

6.5%

6.4%

9.5%

Increase on Jan 2013

33%

8%

-29%

23%

National YTD average

6.4%

2.0%

6.3%

4.0%

18.8%

56.6%

24.6%

regional report

What’s in a name?

The Waikato Times says The Tron comes from a UFM competition in 1998. The station wanted “Hamiltron – city of the future” to replace the motto “Hamilton – where it’s happening”.

The Tron is believed to have been inspired by the movie of the same name.

Waikato generates more power than any other region, while 403,638 people live there and 168,800 are Hamiltonians.

 STACKING UP THE NUMBERS problem if it wasn’t performing so The national proportion of new well, with the Navara outselling the passenger cars sold in Hamilton Hilux in January. over the past 12 months was “And when the rural sector is 6.47 per cent, with the region strong, Hamilton thrives.” accounting for less than five per Even with the strong dairy cent of the national population. boom, some farmers are cautious New commercials made up in case there’s a drought over the 9.48 per cent of national sales coming months, according to over the same period.

Shaune Carruthers, manager of Private vehicle Waikato Toyota’s Te sales were 2.56 per Awamutu branch. cent less than the “Farmers aren’t national average, spending like they which indicates used to and we’re also Hamiltonians are getting a bit of stick more supportive of from the competition,” dealers. he says. “The Ford And there were Ranger isn’t a big 2.16 per cent more competitor in this trade-ins, while sales area, but Holden’s from traders were Colorado is.

0.4 per cent more “Most farmers have than the rest of the a three-year-old ute, country on average. which is still pretty Overall, the city reliable.” accounted for 2,742 In June, marques new commercial attend Fieldays at sales in the past Mystery Creek, which is 12 months, while essential for developing there were 372 leads and sales.

– Sandra Perry, used commercial It’s the largest Waikato Chamber exhibition of its kind registrations.

Those statistics in Australasia, with of Commerce are reinforced by more than 120,000 the Navara being Jim Wright Nissan’s people going along over four strongest performer, for example. days – and every manufacturer is “We’re expecting a new model there competing for a slice of the in the last quarter,” says managing rural market. director Jim Wright.

Carruthers is hoping for a sales “It’s nowhere near in time for boost then. “The new Highlander Fieldays but that would only be a is coming up. Even though farmers

buy utes, they also buy SUVs for their families.”

His dealership shares a Toyota stand with its other dealers in the region and they work towards achieving a combined sales target.

Neil Waka, of Holden New Zealand, points out the event is one of the year’s biggest selling

periods for commercial vehicles.

“Holden achieved about 25 actual sales at Fieldays in 2013 and received more than 50 leads,” he told Autofile.

“Rosetown Holden in Te Awamutu, which helps coordinate our side of the show, is the main recipient.”

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News in brief International winner has market limitations A Kia has been voted international car of the year at Detroit Motor Show for the second time – the Cadenza, pictured, is a luxury model that sits above the mid-to-large Optima that won last year.

While the Optima is sold worldwide and has been face-lifted for New Zealand, the Cadenza is only available in selective left-hand-drive markets and was introduced to the US last year.

The fact you can’t buy it here hasn’t put the brakes on Kia Motors NZ’s party. “Winning the award shows Kia is coming of age,” says general manager Todd McDonald. “You don’t win prizes for coming second.”

Models to have form of power in mind from start ALWAYS BUYING GOOD NZ NEW VEHICLES

Call Guy Walker 021 992 048

Nissan has refused to rule out an electric version of the next-generation Qashqai. Guillaume Cartier, sales and marketing boss in Europe, says such a model wouldn’t be “for now” suggesting it may become a reality.

An electric Qashqai could build on the Leaf’s technology, which was further developed with the NV200 EV. Cartier says Nissan’s electric-vehicle line-up will grow but technology won’t be retrofitted. New models will be designed with electric propulsion in mind.

More industry news online at www.autofile.co.nz

VEHICLES WANTED

ALL PORSCHE, LAND ROVERS, RANGE ROVERS, JAGUARS AND VOLVO MODELS

Simon O’Reilly I 021 31 9992 I simon.oreilly@armstrongs.co.nz I www.armstrongprestige.com

Alfa Romeo’s 4C was named 2013’s most beautiful car at the International Automobile Festival in France. It took out 41 per cent of the votes, ahead of the BMW Series 4 with 25 per cent.

Hyundai’s fourth-quarter profits increased by 13 per cent to about NZ$2.3 billion thanks to higher overseas sales, but earnings for the whole of 2013 dropped.

New truck sales in Japan last year jumped by 102 per cent to 801,975.

Mini-sized trucks were the most popular on 422,820 sales.

World’s biggest marque enters electric market It was only a matter of time before Toyota entered the electric vehicle (EV) market – and it has done so with the Ranz.

Based on the previous Corolla EX, it’s part of a sub-brand of the FAWToyota joint venture that’s focusing on making cheap EVs. Its 95hp electric motor will have a Chinese government-approved top speed of 120kph and a range of about 100km.

The first Ranz will be going on sale in Shanghai in April. Pricing is expected to be about NZ$21,500 and other markets may be considered in the future.

Buying: Vans, Utes, Light Trucks. Nationwide.

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gareth@southcitymotors.co.nz

www.317.co.nz

To advertise here, contact:

advertising@autofile.co.nz Ph 021 455 775

Dealers advised to ensure fuel labels are correct The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority will be carrying out surveys during 2014.

If officials are checking heat-pump or refrigerator retailers in an area, it’s likely they will also visit car dealers, so the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association advises it’s a good time to check all stock has up-todate fuel-economy labels.

news

Call for views on takeover

T

he Commerce Commission is calling for submissions on IAG wanting to acquire 100 per cent of the shares in Lumley.

A preliminary issues statement details existing and potential competition matters it considers will be important in deciding whether or not to grant clearance.

Underwriting levels are under the spotlight, while a decision will be based on the Commerce Act and made by March 28.

The Motor Trade Association has already met with the commission to highlight issues.

“We’re concerned with the impact on collision repairers and a squeeze on labour rates, in particular for non-approved repairers,” says Dougal Morrison, advocacy and training manager.

“IAG is reviewing approved repairers and since it took over AMI

Control unit recall

T

oyota has issued a precautionary recall on 1,003 Priuses sold new here and made between March 2009 and February 2014.

Potential malfunctions with their electronic control units can be caused by high operating environment temperatures.

They can be damaged if increased thermal stress occurs, which would result in warning lights coming on.

In most cases, the cars would enter fail-safe mode. In limited instances, the entire system could switch off.

There have been no reported failures related to the problem here and it would be unlikely to happen because Kiwi conditions

there’s been a decrease in loss ratio over the past five years. This means it isn’t paying out as much but the cost of labour has hardly moved.”

Morrison adds the takeover may affect premiums and car dealers offering products such as mechanical warranties.

Lyn McMorran, executive director of the Financial Services Federation, which represents many automotive lenders, says the feeling among members is that Lumley’s pretty small.

“It doesn’t have a huge market share and most of its vehicle insurance is through Westpac so it shouldn’t make a great deal of difference.”

The commission will assess whether the merger is likely to result in a substantial lessening of competition.

“The acquisition would result in aggregation at underwriting

Toyota's Prius

level,” it says. “We will also consider the impact on the distribution of intermediaries.”

The takeover involves overlapping products, so categories will be considered. These include private and commercial vehicles, commercial property and liability.

Because of an overlap in vehicle products, auto-glass and windscreen and collision repair services will be considered.

Buyers being able to switch providers if the merged entity raises prices will be probed, as will IAG being strengthened to decrease competition in windscreen and collision repairs.

IAG’s direct insurance brands are State and AMI, while NZI is intermediated.

It also owns DriveRight, which provides mechanical breakdown insurance. It’s no longer taking on new

mechanical breakdown, guaranteed asset protection and payment protection insurance business.

Although DriveRight has accepted no new clients since November 1, existing policies will continue until their documented inclusion.

IAG also owns Swann Insurance, which provides classic car and motorbike and financial insurance protection, and runs HarleyDavidson Insurance Services.

Lumley has three divisions – broker, business solutions and finance – as well as general and professional liability, commercial vehicle products and a fleet management system.

The commission’s preliminary report is online at www.comcom. govt.nz. Submissions can be emailed to registrar@comcom.govt.nz with IAG/Lumley in the subject line or posted to PO Box 2351, Wellington 6140, by 4pm on February 21.

VEHICLES WANTED Mercedes Benz

mean engines generally don’t reach temperatures where this could be an issue.

A free software upgrade will fix the fault and take about one hour, while used imports brought to the marque’s attention will receive the work if needed.

The recall affects almost two million units worldwide. Toyota is aware of more than 400 cases of the problem, including 90 in North America and 300 in Japan, but no accidents have been reported.

The marque has also instructed dealers in North America to stop selling six models with heated seats because their fabric fails to comply with US standards, but none sold here are affected.

toyota

Volkswagen BMw audi lexus Kia

nissan chrysler Jeep dodge

We are always looking to purchase late model

NZ NEW CARS AND COMMERCIALS PAUL CURiN

0274 333 303

pcurin@miles.co.nz

miles motor group www.autofile.co.nz | 15

tech report The IMVIa Technical report is proudly brought to you by leading certification service provider, VINZ

from the trade and for the trade

Five and dime in disguise W

hen I was growing up in the 1950s, the cars we were driving were referred to as “Brit sh*t” and “Yank tanks”.

The products on the shelves of Woolworths and McKenzies were – in the main – called “Jap crap”, while in the 1960s the first Japanese motorbikes and cars were talked about in the same vernacular.

But were these derogatory terms warranted? In many cases they were.

We had shocking vehicles on the road sourced from UK and US manufacturers, and we had rubbish being sold to the consumer from – as Americans called them – five-and-dime stores.

Are things any better today? I believe they are. We have a much better fleet that meets international safety and environmental standards, and it’s far more durable and better built than 1940s-60s vehicles.

Consumer goods from Japan are now recognised as world class and leaders in their fields.

My gripe is we still have cheap, mass-produced junk being

– all for a few dollars. foisted on us. This time This market has a real it’s coming from different effect on the fleet’s safety low-wage source – cheap brake pads wear markets, such as China, out faster and increase Sri Lanka and other the chance of in-service developing countries. failure.

I’m not talking Dealers should bear about vehicles made in in mind the quality of those places because MALCOLM YORSTON IMVIA membership and parts put in their vehicles manufacturers must technical services manager – they need to pass meet strict standards. warrants of fitness and be fit for For example, Kiwis buy toasters purpose so they comply with safety from major chains at low prices. and consumer protection laws.

When they pack up, they get But is buying cheap, subreplacements then moan about standard parts cost-effective? No. the junk they’re being sold.

The cost of parts and labour for The same can be said about replacements exceeds using a some after-market car parts. quality product in the first place.

You can buy brake-disc pads for Can we change this? Of course ridiculously low prices, but later we can. When distribution chains find they have to be replaced many buy products from China and other times within the distance a quality set would last.

A lot of people are screwing down prices of car parts until the quality is lacking

A postcard view, above, of a FW Woolworth Co shop in the 1930s, while its first five-and-dime store opened in New York in 1878.

A poster, right, from Australian-owned Woolworths in Levin around 1949.

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places, they look for the cheapest price – where quality is low – instead of paying a few more dollars.

A product sold for $25 today may retail for $35 and be of much better quality and durability had the distribution chain paid another $1 to the manufacturer for a better product.

Are we doing so-called “China Incorporated” and other developing economies a disservice? I believe we are because we complain about “Chinese junk” as we complained about “Jap crap” in the 1950s and ‘60s.

If we vote with our feet and buy better quality items, retailers will ask themselves why products aren’t selling.

They will realise consumers want better products and change supply arrangements to ensure they are available.

Will this be cost-effective? Yes it will because there will be less waste and fewer replacement costs because products will be more durable.

China Incorporated, as Japan Incorporated did, will come to realise quality will be increasingly required by developed nations – as is in the car industry where requirements are standards based.

I’m not knocking Chinese manufacturing because top-quality products are coming from there in the electronic and other fields.

But when we will realise we can change product quality on retailers’ shelves? As soon as we decide we can make a difference, the sooner change will come.

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f & i stats

January 2014 Finance

13%

Payment protection

38% 12% 29% New Used

GAP

18% 40% 11%

Insurance

T

he automotive the business manager’s industry is highly seat for some of competitive, and Australasia’s largest reaching sales targets is dealers. often challenging and Her understanding sometimes impossible to of what makes a great achieve month after business manager and month and year after year. having a great sales team While there are are paying dividends for Erin Mills effective sales and Protecta’s dealers.

Business development manager, marketing initiatives to Mills says: “It’s Protecta Insurance NZ Ltd achieve targets, they don’t rewarding for me to be always support long-term strategies. able to continue working alongside Without long-term strategies, an industry I built my career in and dealers may face added pressures and to share my 20 years’ worth of skills, challenges, ranging from unattainable experience and passion. sales targets to decreasing levels of “Clients are growing more and employee satisfaction, performance more aware of our F&I training and retention. and we’re finding an increasing Niche industry provider, Protecta demand from dealers to consult Insurance, has worked with a range with them on their sales capability of dealers over the past 30 years and how we can assist.” and has seen clients with similar Protecta’s intensive one-day strengths and weaknesses. workshops are also benefiting While some of these clients by increasing product weaknesses are indicative of knowledge – and building industry, there are many that aren’t individual and team confidence in and they could be prevented a practical and interactive way. through long-term strategies.

“Most dealerships face similar, if In response to industry not the same, challenges,” explains challenges, Protecta could see clients Mills. “Without industry experience needed more from their insurance and a deep understanding, I provider so the company shifted its wouldn’t be able to deliver resultsfocus from selling products to selling focused F&I training to strengthen service and expertise. long-term sales functions.

It achieved this by taking a “I believe the critical attributes of proactive approach to helping business managers are high degrees clients achieve sales targets. of motivation, and the ability to Stephen Glading, managing build and maintain productive director of Protecta Insurance, relationships with their teams. says: “Selling competitively “Sales teams and business priced products has never been a managers need to be working in challenge for us and possibly not for unison to optimise every sales other insurance providers either. opportunity. These are the kinds of “We know the industry well areas our workshops also cover. because we have been working “I recommend dealers who in it for a long time. We wanted think they may be able to to be able to show greater value strengthen their workforce through to our clients, so we diversified specialist F&I training to get in our business to include specialist touch with me today to see how I finance and insurance [F&I] training.” may be able to assist.”

Protecta’s F&I training is For more details, call Erin Mills at facilitated by Erin Mills, who has Protecta on 021-807-148 or email extensive experience working in erin.mills@protecta.co.nz.

PROTECTA Nationwide F & I results

Best result $ 1,362 Worst result $ 4 64

13%

MBI

Specialist training delivers dividends

49% 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

55%

We’re raising the bar...

Specialist training is helping our motor dealers to achieve longer term sales targets.

Find out more today. contact: erin Mills from Protecta insurance Phone: 021 807 148 email: erin.mills@protecta.co.nz

www.autofile.co.nz | 17

disputes

Dealer’s repairs on vehicle defeats one out of two rejection applications

r Vehicle Disputes At: The Mototchu rch.

Tribunal, Chris

the CGA guarantee because no reasonable buyer would regard as acceptable a car that needed repairs amounting to about 20 per cent of its price a month later.

It found the knock sensor failure wasn’t substantial. It wasn’t persuaded a reasonable buyer would have decided not to purchase the Mitsubishi with full knowledge of this problem.

But the Suzuki’s failure was significant and the tribunal was satisfied a reasonable purchaser – acquainted with the failure’s nature and extent – wouldn’t have bought it.

Harvey asked the trader to fix the Mitsubishi and didn’t have the right to reject it because there was no failure to repair.

There was no evidence Harvey asked for it to be repaired and nor was the failure substantial, which would have entitled him to reject.

However, Harvey was entitled to reject the Suzuki because of the transmission failure. He did this promptly once he knew what the problem was and the tribunal ruled this rejection was lawful.

The ruling

The Mitsubishi was 14 years old with 129,975km on the clock when sold for $7,999. Its failed knock sensor was repaired at minimal cost.

In most cases, such a fault wouldn’t fail the guarantee of acceptable quality but given The TRUSTED online wholesale trading site. it occurred within a week ofautopor t.net purchase, the tribunal ruled it did. h eHamiltoncThames tAuckland rejection of the Suzuki The Suzuki was seven years TaurangaWhangarei dRotoruaThe Gisborne Napier NewoPlymouth Biggest increases/Decreases Wanganui Palmerston North Masterton Wellington By town year-on-year upheld old and had 81,831km on the Nelson Blenheim was Greymouth Whangarei Auckland and the trader (OctOber 2013 vs OctOber 2012) Hamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne was clock when sold for $12,000. Napier New Plymouth Wanganuiordered Palmerston North to pay $12,000 to Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Westport Christchurch Timaru Oamaru Dunedin was to return the car Harvey, Within a month, the transmission Invercargill Whangarei Auckland Hamiltonwho Thames Tauranga Rotorua Gisborne Napier New Plymouth after The Mitsubishi’s needed replacing.

Wanganui Palmerston Northpayment.

Masterton Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Whangarei AucklandoHamiltonrejection Thames Tauranga Rotorua was dismissed.

The tribunal ruled it failed c

O hi

m am 1, th 1

e

Used

  

Biggest decreases

new

 27.7%  26.8%  23.7%

PassengeR Vehicle RegistRatiOns

westport Masterton timaru

Used

  

Used Vehicle RegistRatiOns

New versus used

North IslaNd versus south IslaNd

CONNECT & ENGAGE 10000

7000

6000

5000

South Island

JuL ‘13

Nov ‘12

Oct ‘13

JuL ‘13

SEP ‘13

JuN ‘13

AuG ‘13

DEC ‘12

MAy ‘13

1000

FEb ‘13

2000

APr ‘13

5000

4000

MAr ‘13

3000

JAN ‘13

6000

Oct Nov Dec y Jun Jul Aug Sep Jan Feb Mar Apr Ma

North Island

4000

SEP ‘13

7962

FEb ‘13

8545

New

DEC ‘12

Used

7000

JAN ‘13

9000

8000

Nov ‘12

Blenheim nelson rotorua

JuN ‘13

2012

 100.0%  51.2%  34.1%

AuG ‘13

6500

5500

S

Biggest increases

new

MAy ‘13

2013

westport thames napier

wanganui gisborne timaru

t o b e r 2 0 13

7000

6000

I

Orders

try

7500

ruled the purc rejecting the Chariot because there was no failure to fix the problem. But he was entitled to reject the Suzuki because its issues were substantial.

un

Harvey paid for the Mitsubishi through swapping and trading in his Barina. The vehicle offer and sale agreement (VOSA) recorded the swap’s value at $7,999 and the Chariot had 129,975km on its clock.

Within a few days, the Mitsubishi started shuddering and Harvey didn’t know what was wrong with it.

The car shuddered at 70-80kph but the problem worsened and became evident at other speeds.

Harvey took the Chariot back to the trader and said he no longer wanted it. The dealer denied telling him it didn’t “do” refunds.

Carl Loader, the trader’s manager, said the value given to the Mitsubishi was $6,500 – $1,500 less than on the original VOSA. The Suzuki’s total price was $12,000 and its odometer was on 81,831km when sold.

Harvey didn’t pay attention to the Mitsubishi’s recorded trade-in value because he was focusing on the money he needed to secure the Suzuki.

About three weeks after Harvey bought the SX4, its transmission

n: The tribunal The decisio haser had no right

trade out of the Mitsubishi.

In regard to the Suzuki, Loader said the trader had met its CGA responsibilities by repairing the car in a reasonable time and Harvey wasn’t entitled to reject it because it was repairable.

Autoshop charged the dealer $639 to remove, strip and inspect the transmission, fit the secondhand one and refill it.

The replacement transmission from Wanganui Auto Wreckers cost $1,748. All of the repairs came to $2,387.

Ryan Gerard, who carried out the work, said this included a trade discount and the alternative was to rebuild the transmission, which would have cost about $3,000.

He said a bearing inside it had failed causing metal filings to be distributed throughout it.

The likely cause of the Suzuki losing drive was the filings getting into the valve body causing the valves controlling fluid pressure to the clutch packs to stick.

Loader said the Mitsubishi needed only a minor repair, with a knock sensor replaced for $265.

APr ‘13

The case

failed causing the car to go into limp mode.

On July 30, Loader told Harvey he would fix it. Harvey told him he wanted a refund and for the car to be returned.

Loader said that under the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) he had the right to repair it within a reasonable time.

The next day, Harvey texted Loader asking to be kept informed of what repairs were needed.

He wanted to know the extent of the damage and consider what remedy he might be entitled to.

Loader refused his request to arrange an independent inspection.

Loader emailed Harvey on August 5 to say the transmission had been stripped, parts were coming and the work would take about eight hours.

A second-hand transmission was located in Wanganui that day and shipped to Autoshop Ltd to be fitted.

Harvey contacted Ryan Gerard at Autoshop and found out that parts referred to in Loader’s email included the transmission.

The same day Harvey wrote to Loader rejecting the Suzuki claiming it was a substantial failure of the CGA’s guarantee of acceptable quality.

The trader didn’t accept Harvey was entitled to reject the car because he collected the Suzuki and continued to pay its insurance.

Harvey said he did this to 10000 it was safe until the ensure application was determined, there 9500 had been some use of the car and 0 its900 November 9 odometer reading was 83,340km.

0 850 Loader disputed Harvey 8000 rejected the Chariot and decided to

MAr ‘13

Scott Harvey bought a 1999 Mitsubishi Chariot for $7,999 – funded by swapping a 2004 Holden Barina – from Orange Autos Ltd on May 24 last year.

On July 8, he traded in the Mitsubishi for a 2006 Suzuki SX4 and a purchase price of $12,000.

The buyer rejected the Suzuki after its transmission failed and claimed he also rejected the Mitsubishi.

The trader said Harvey wasn’t entitled to a refund on either vehicle because he didn’t reject the Chariot and the SX4 was repaired.

a Suzuki SX4 failed and also claimed to reject a Mitsubishi Chariot. The dealer said the customer didn’t reject the Chariot and the SX4 was repaired.

Aroun

Background

The buyer rejected The case:after its transmission

Used imPORt PassengeR Vehicle RegistRatiOns by city

aucklaNd, wellINgtoN, chrIstchurch

18 | www.autofile.co.nz

4500

600

3500 3000

hamIltoN, tauraNga, duNedIN, PalmerstoN North

4320

4000 Auckland

500

Hamilton

disputes

Buyer told ‘there’s no guarantee this will be successful, this is trying it on’ Background

The case

The ruling

Annual high for stockpile

NeW CArS SoLd

Imported

dAyS AVerAge SALeS per StoCk dAy - ytd At hANd

StoCk

VArIANCe

12,984

MIA stock estimate as at end of December 2011 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

76

May ‘12

7,742

5,942

1,800

15,630

205

‘12 Jun  95.5% ‘12 Jul  64.9%  52.0% ‘12 Aug

8,870

7,142

1,728

17,358

211

7,894

6,208

1,686

19,044

209

91

8,589

5,959

2,630

21,674

207

105

Sep ‘12

6,828

105

Oct ‘12

8,155

6,637

191

21,865

7,336

819

22,684

211

107

25,153

212

119

1,714

26,867

211

128

13,883

26,867

34,559

220

(266)

-

-

-

-

-

68,612

8,826

Wellington Lyttelton 82,380

34,293 35,693

Mitsubishi

Honda

2012

Volkswagen

222

157 22 Oct 60 158

40

-

-

20

-

1 Nov

154

226

7 Nov

13- Nov

16 Nov

23 Nov

0

29 Nov

Kia

17 Nov

17 Nov

BMw

4 Dec

11 Dec 11 Dec

Subaru

Audi Mercedes-Benz

Peugeot

ISING ED ADVERT TARGET PORT TO DOOR SERVICE

SPACE

Ssangyong

Dodge GENEROUS REWAR DS

INCLUDING : WE BE LOOKING AT YOUR BUSINESS? SHOULDN’T PROGRAMMESkoda

 495

USed ImportS VArIANCe SoLd

StoCk

dAyS AVerAge SALeS per StoCk dAy - ytd At hANd

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

r Vehicle Disputes At: The Motoland .

Tribunal, Auck

The fault with the differential bearings was probably something the buyer of an 11-year-old $14,500 vehicle wouldn’t have expected 3,000km and seven months after purchasing the car.

But the tribunal noted this was repaired by Han’s repairer and wasn’t reported to the seller before being fixed.

It agreed with the trader that her actions in getting a pre-purchase inspection done eight months and 3,236km after the SUV was sold, and claiming faults were present when it was sold, were unreasonable.

The tyres were made in 2006 and their cracks weren’t serious enough for the car to fail compliance or two WOFs, so the tribunal didn’t consider they were faulty when sold or lacked durability.

It wasn’t persuaded the SUV failed to comply with the guarantee of acceptable quality when supplied.

The faults in the AA report eight months post-sale were common and not unexpected in an 11-yearold Japanese import that had travelled 75,000km.

The tribunal also ruled none of the failures were of substantial character.

Order

17%

850 wds

The application was dismissed.

41

12% 14%

go to www.autofile.co.nz/subscribe for the latest industry news13% Jeep

h

Imported

Total stock at the end of December 2011

Subscribe - FREE

15 Nov 16 Nov

MPI Border inspection

Lexus

Land Rover Ship your motor vehicles on

Dec

7,272

4,237 Yokohama 6,828

Auckland 1,400 7,962

2013

oct

1,654

100

nov

6,769

120

sep

77,438

30,322

31 Oct

125

JUL

Oct ‘13

2013 predicted sales

30 Oct

130 21 Oct 80 138

aUG

-

20 Oct

220

JUn

9,362

Nov ‘13

132

220

apr

7,006

Oct ‘13

214

28,668

may

11,065

Sep ‘13

216

28,159

509

Feb

Aug ‘13

27,077

1,082

6,347

Jan

8,423

ytd total

says Macdonald.

“Dealers then jump online to buy more from Japan, but that’s

25 206 5,126 736 match demand.

5,877 6,613 Apr ‘12 29 208 6,026 900 6,793 “When the market’s down in 7,693 May ‘12 33 208 6,789 763 6,184 Japan, stock is hard to get. When 6,947 Jun ‘12 26 209 5,483 (1,306) 6,641 5,335 it’s buoyant, you tend to buy what Jul ‘12 oversupply issue.

21 210 4,402 (1,081) 6,621 5,540 you can because you don’t know Aug ‘12 “There was good buying in Japan 18 209 3,686 (716) 6,222 time. next 5,506 available be will ‘12 what Sep arrival high saw we and in March, 12 211 2,507 (1,179) 6,867 in bear 5,688 to need also ‘12 Oct “Dealers numbers in April, May and June.

18 213 3,810 1,303 7,183 to 8,486 Nov ‘12 mind it takes four to six weeks “The stockpile occurs more at 14 Nov '13 215 3,105 (705) Nov '12 7,119 Nov 6,414 ” Mkt +/- % Dec ‘12 stock from Japan. get'13 2013 certain times of the year. Since Mkt Share 2013 total (5,474) 78,311 Share 72,837 Model say 300 Make ytd total Larger operations, of in Nov '13 Nov '12 +/back into the I came1746 Nov Mkt 2013 2013 Mkt 1190industry46.7 % 23.4% Share total 14670 19.3% Share dAyS AVerAge Toyota Corolla 685 USed ImportS 673 StoCk SALeS per StoCk 1.8 35.5 Imported626 SoLd462 VArIANCe 9.2%import8102 cars 8.4% dAy5283 2013 Days stock in nZ - UseD hANd 10.7% - ytd At 6.9% Toyota RAV4 618 596 289 3.7 80 261.3 8.3% 3105 3.9% 2521 6519 at the end of December 2012 8.6% 3.3% 180 Holden Total stock Commodore 572 624 260 -8.3 0.7 171 239 7.7% 176 52.0 (2,929) 7,397 4,468 6695 3.5% 2399 8.8% 3.2% Mazda Jan ‘13Cx-5 160 512 6 243 485 1,501 1,325 6,922 239 8,247 5.6 141 Feb ‘13 6.9% 69.5 5447 3.2% 1989 7.2% 11 243 2.6% Toyota Mar ‘13 2,772 1,271 7,581 Liberty 140 382 8,852 yaris 281 35.9 227 267 5.1% -15.0 3342 4.4% 5,893 2235244 2.9%24 3,121 3.0% 7,418 10,539 Suzuki Apr ‘13 V1 Swift 120 376 405 -7.2 218 34 250 5.0% 254 8,400 2,507 2.9% 8,460 -14.2 4436 10,967 May ‘13 5.8% 2750 3.6% Ford 351 34 Mondeo 252 272 8,627 227 7,862 29.0 8,089 184 Jun ‘13 4.7% 29100Nov 98 87.8 3661 2.5% 1201 261 1.6%29 4.8% 7,621 (1,006) Hyundai Jul ‘13 9,629 310 8,623 ix35 312 -0.6 80 168 4.2% 81 107.4 (13) 2.3% 2994 263 1.8% 29 3.9% 7,608 8,648 1338 8,635 30 Nov ‘13 Mitsubishi Aug Lancer 288 261 10.3 29 168 262 3.9% 60 7,494 (114) 7,615 84 3527 7,501 100.0 Sep ‘13 4.6% 2.3% 894 Toyota 202 263 1.2% 35 240 9,323 1,829 8,545 -15.8 1 Dec 2013 10,374 ‘13 Oct Camry 2.7% 168 131 40 2563 28.2 3.4% - 1.7% - 2.3% - 1270 172 Holden ‘13 NovCaptiva 178 -3.4 2.3% 135 1861 319 20 2.4% 19 Dec - 1.8% - 2039 - -57.7 ‘13 2012 2.7% 165 Volkswagen DecGolf 153 7.8 2.2% 134 80,077 30.1 6,218 1645 86,295 103 ytd total 2.2% 0 1.8% 1469 1.9% 163 Toyota 26 Dec 150 Highland 96,145 8.7 er sales predicted 2013 2.2% 118 1748 79 2.3% 49.4 1.6% 1092 1.4% 128 Ford 82 Focus 56.1 1.7% 114 1398 29 Dec 212 -46.2 1.8% 1.5% 1429 108 1.9% Honda 60 80.0 Jazz 1.4% 113 1001 1.3% 1.5% COMMERCIAL STATISTICS76 48.7 922 92 OF THE NEW AND USED 1.2% 65 SPONSORSHIP Ford 41.5 Kuga 1.2% 775 1.0% 18 522.2 FOR YOUR BUSINESS 112 AVAILABLE NOW IS PAGES 1.5% 952 86 1.3% 49 Mazda 75.5 Mazda3 1.2% 724 109 1.0% 151 -27.8 1.5% 1537 64 2.0% 46 le.co.nz Toyota 39.1all enquiries 775 or email on 021 455 Aurionbrian@autofi107 0.9% contact For 478 Brian0.6% 23 365.2 1.4% 447 63 0.6% 56 Holden 12.5 Cruze 0.8% 654 106 0.9% 80 32.5 1.4% 1925 54 2.5% 44 Hyundai 22.7 0.7% Santa Fe 508 103 0.7% www.autofile.co.nz | 27 261 -60.5 1.4% 1847 51 22 2.4% mar

Jul ‘13

1,483

5,908 Osaka 7,542 Nagoya

Dec

8,051

25,594

26,065

oct

7,429

Jun ‘13

(471)

nov

7,391

May ‘13

6,800

Hyundai Mazda

Nissan Morning Miracle Suzuki V5

sep

Apr ‘13

Port 1,228 5,799Calls

Sepang Express V9

JUL

6,329

160 104 Hoegh Xiamen 117 223 140 115V20 222

238

apr

7,027

Mar ‘13

Toyota

Holden

Ford

LATEST SCHEDULE

24,837

may

Feb ‘13

180

(2,030)

aUG

StoCk

VArIANCe

7,385

Feb

5,355

Dec ‘13

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

Make

Days stock in nZ - new cars

Jan

Imported

dAyS AVerAge SALeS per StoCk dAy - ytd At hANd

January to 131 in October.

Last year 90,754 units were imported and there were 76,871 sales for a variance of 13,883.

JUn

NeW CArS SoLd

Jan ‘13

1805

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

Days of stock

2,469

6,102

76,871

6,484

7,816

Total stock at the end of December 2012

6740

other centres.

“But 80 per cent of New Zealand’s population is in Auckland and

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,”

TWO SAILINGS PER MONTH JAPAN TO NZ

8,953

90,754

mar

2013

82

209

Days of stock

Nov ‘12

 41.7% Dec ‘12  20.0% ytd total  12.4%

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

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

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

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.”

Finance

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

T

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

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

ruled the car consumer law when supplied, while faults identified in a pre-purchase report eight months after sale were common and not unexpected in an 11-year-old vehicle with 75,000km on the clock.

GAP

ighest of 2013.

There were 7,962 sales last month, also this year’s biggest mount, while the variance was ,400 with 9,362 units imported – he second highest amount after 11,065 imports in August.

The total stock figure at the end of December was 20,683 and

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

he 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

surance

S

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

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

Christchurch are boosting sales.

“Trades people are upgrading their vehicles,” says Crawford.

“Although passenger cars aren’t so

n: The tribunal The decisio complied with

Payment protection

Industry manages levels well

tock levels of new cars have increased every month except one this year, with October’s total of 29,509 being the

second-hand the basis it had serious defects. The dealer said they weren’t substantial and some were wear-and-tear items.

without requiring the trader to do so. try to use it as evidence of the On September 12, worn SUV’s condition when bought. differential bearings were replaced The dealer stressed it had by the buyer’s mechanic using the passed compliance and a WOF Protecta policy. before Han bought it.

The repairs cost $2,934, of The car passed another WOF which Joa Motors was invoiced for on August 14 after Han had driven the $250 policy excess. Han didn’t it for 2,636km. Transmission repairs ask the trader to fix the fault. carried out in September were Eight months post-supply, the likely to be the cause of grease on AA did a pre-purchase inspection the driveshaft’s CV boot and oil on October 14 when the odometer leaking from the transmission. was on 75,683km.

The trader pointed out Han’s It rated the car as grade three, failure to garage the vehicle or “likely to require unplanned maintain the tyres was likely to have maintenance and repair”, and exacerbated the tyres cracking. noted wheel noise on the road test Finally, the dealer said her case and some defects. was unfounded. Her legal adviser All tyre treads were cracked, Kirsty Broderick, of Waitakere the right-hand front CV boot Community Law Service, told her by was leaking grease, the bottom email before she sent the rejection transmission area was leaking oil, letter and filed her application that the high stop lamp was missing “there’s no guarantee this will be and the radio had an incomplete successful, this is trying it on”. frequency range.

On the right-hand side, the frontThe tribunal had to determine door electric window was sluggish, if the vehicle complied with the the front mud flap was insecure and guarantee of acceptable quality. the B-pillar had recent paint repairs.

The check-engine warning Han sent the trader a rejection lamp lit up about 10 days after letter on October 23 saying five purchase. The battery was replaced defects were serious and the car xxxxxxxxx

by Han on her mechanic’s advice needed attention because of faults but that didn’t cure the fault. the AA detected.

The tribunal didn’t think the The dealer said Han didn’t failure was caused by the battery comply with section 18 of the for three reasons.

Consumer Guarantees Act by The buyer said she hadn’t had requiring it to fix most of the faults. the car jump-started, it never failed It added the check-engine light to start and the light came back on still came on after the battery was five and 12 days afterwards. replaced and it probably didn’t Dealer stock of used car imports in New Zealand - Oct 2013 It wasn’t until the trader had the need replacing, while the brake 2012 throttle position sensor replaced pads were service items. that the fault was fixed.

The trader said it was The tribunal ruled the worn unreasonable to claim the car brakes pads were maintenance was unsafe on the basis of a preNew Passenger Vehicle Sales

by Make - November 2013 items, which wouldn’t unusual purchase inspection completed New Passenger Vehicle Salesbe

by Model - November 2013 to have to replace after 75,000km.

3,283km after the sale – and to

Kyoungmi Han bought a 2002 Honda CRV from Korpac Trading Company, trading as Pacific Cars, on February 15, 2013, for $14,500.

She rejected it on October 23 after claiming it had serious problems over eight months. She wanted a refund.

The dealer said some faults developed post-supply and were repaired when Han requested.

The seller said three defects more than 3,200km after the car was sold weren’t substantial because it passed compliance and warrant of fitness (WOF) inspections.

The trader was unable to accept a pre-purchase report eight months after supply and said issues raised were service items for a car that had travelled about 75,000km.

The odometer was on 72,400km when the car was sold with a WOF and a three-year Protecta mechanical breakdown policy.

On February 27, the checkengine light came on. Han had a new battery fitted by Joa Motors for $197 without asking the trader to replace it. xxxxxxxxxxx On March 7, the light lit up again.

She took the car to the dealer, which sent it to Milford Auto Electrical. It repaired a fault in throttle position sensor’s wiring for $244.

On April 5, it did the same thing and the dealer sent it back to Milford. A sensor fault was found, - Oct 2013 replaced using the Zealand cars in New Dealer stock of new which the trader 2012 mechanical breakdown policy with the dealer paying the $250 excess.

On August 14, the SUV failed its WOF at 75,036km because of worn front and rear-brake pads. Han paid Joa Motors $160 to replace them

The buyer rejected a The case: Japa nese import on

22% 9% 8500

New Passenger registration

s-2

The TRUSTED online wholesale trading site.

autoport.net

co

he

d

Biggest Increases/Decreases by town year-on-year

un

try

Aroun

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

(January 2014 vs January 2013) Biggest Increases

New Used Greymouth  242.9% Wanganui  78.7% Rotorua  73.8% Palmerston North  76.2% Wanganui  43.6% Masterton  72.7%

New Used Westport  25.0% Gisborne Palmerston North 4.9%

a n u a r y 2 0 14

Biggest Decreases

Passenger Vehicle Registrations

 2.3%

Used Vehicle Registrations

New versus Used

North Island versus South Island 7460

7000

10000 Used 9000 8000

9470

6000

New

5000

8293

North Island

4000

7000

3000

6000

South Island

2000

5000

2010

JAN ‘14

DEC ‘13

Nov ‘13

Oct ‘13

Sep ‘13

AUG ‘13

JUL ‘13

Jun ‘13

May ‘13

APr ‘13

Feb ‘13

JAN ‘14

DEC ‘13

Nov ‘13

Oct ‘13

Sep ‘13

AUG ‘13

JUL ‘13

Jun ‘13

May ‘13

APr ‘13

Mar ‘13

Feb ‘13

Mar ‘13

1000

4000

Used Import Passenger Vehicle Registrations by City

Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch

Hamilton, Tauranga, Dunedin, Palmerston North

4500

4567

4000 Auckland

500

Hamilton

2500 2000 Christchurch

1282

1000

746

266 249

200 Palmerston North

100

JAN ‘14

DEC ‘13

Nov ‘13

Oct ‘13

Sep ‘13

AUG ‘13

JUL ‘13

May ‘13

APr ‘13

DEC ‘13

Nov ‘13

Oct ‘13

0 Sep ‘13

AUG ‘13

JUL ‘13

May ‘13

APr ‘13

Mar ‘13

Feb ‘13

Jun ‘13

Wellington

0

357

Dunedin

Mar ‘13

500

Tauranga

300

Feb ‘13

1500

Vehicles sold

400

JAN ‘14

Vehicles sold

3000

Jun ‘13

3500

655

600

UK, Japanese and local vehicles.

Finance available.

The TRUSTED online wholesale trading site.

www.

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18 Feb

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Auckland

8 Mar

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Dollar still high against yen

T

he high exchange rate of the Kiwi dollar with the yen is continuing to prove attractive to car dealers in the used import trade.

Last month, the cross-rate with the Japanese currency struck a high of 87.07 before falling back to 83.9 at the end of the month – and that compared to the dollar trading between 71.8 and 76 in January 2013.

The strong trading conditions in Japan were also reflected in the high volume of used passenger vehicles crossing the border in January, which was virtually double the total for the same month of last year.

Last month saw 8,813 arrivals, which was a 49.3 per cent jump from 4,467 in January 2013 – as reported first by www.autofile.co.nz.

The total was down compared

to the last three months of last year – with October finishing on 10,361 units, November on 11,178 and December on 10,067.

The strong January followed an impressive 2013, when the overall total came to 107,284 used cars crossing the border.

Most – predictably – came from Japan last month with 8,269 imports. This represented 93.8 per cent of the market and compared to 3,939 last January.

The UK and Australia shared second spot with 210 units each.

January 2013 saw 281 imports from Great Britain and 109 arrive from across the Tasman.

The US took out third place with 82, while only 15 units came in from Singapore. The totals for January last year were 94 and 11 respectively.

Andrew Choy, of Budget

Car Auction in Manukau, South Auckland, reports a “pretty good month in January and it was a mixture of everything”.

He told Autofile: “There’s no trouble finding stock but you have got to have the money.”

Choy believes the dollar’s value against the yen doesn’t have a huge impact when the business buys from Japan.

“The thing is it’s more than just supply and demand, so if all dealers are buying the same stock the price goes up.”

He says the dealership is looking in good shape for 2014 with more than 120 cars on-site, while the take-up of finance has also been strong.

“We’re selling big mixture and commercials are going well,” Choy adds. “All of our stock is coming

from Japan. We’re bringing in lots of Hiaces.”

A total of 362 used commercials were imported last month, which meant January’s total was down by 27 per cent compared to December 2013.

Out of those, 293 arrived from Japan. Second place went to India, which exported 46 units to these shores, followed by the UK on seven.

January’s sales figures for used imports also recorded an increase – of 28 per cent from 7,397 to 9,470.

The overall total, with commercials included, rose by 19 per cent 10,097 units.

The to five used imports were Nissan’s Tiida, Suzuki’s Swift, Mazda’s Axela and Demio, and Honda’s Fit, which gives an indication of general market availability in Japan for used importers.

Used import passenger vehicle arrivals 11000 10000 9000 8000

2014

7000 6000 5000 4000 3000

2010 2013 2011 2012

2000

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Used Import Passenger Vehicles By Country Of Export Country of Export

Australia Great Britain

2014

2013

2012

JAN’14

2014 TOTAL

Market Share %

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

210

210

2.4%

385

464

503

638

2013 TOTAL MRkt Share

1990

1.9%

2012 total

% Total

1199

1.6%

210

210

2.4%

664

716

737

791

2908

2.7%

2730

3.7%

8269

8269

93.8%

20148

27869

23072

29695

100784

93.9%

67442

92.6%

Singapore

15

15

0.2%

31

26

41

48

146

0.1%

154

0.2%

Usa

82

82

0.9%

266

248

307

384

1205

1.1%

976

1.3%

Japan

Other countries Total

27

27

0.3%

65

64

63

59

251

0.2%

336

0.5%

8813

8813

100.0%

21559

29387

24723

31615

107284

100.0%

72837

100.0%

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Greg Bardsley

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Proud to sponsor the SecondHand Car Sales Statistics

Buyers go local for ‘standard stuff’ I

t was a case of steady as she goes with second-hand car sales made by dealers last month.

There were 15,864 trader-topublic transactions in January, which was a slight drop of 0.6 per cent on 15,773 registrations during the same month of 2013.

The decrease was similar – 0.3 per cent – for trade-ins, of which there were 11,911 last month compared to 11,878 last January, while private sales went up by 3.4 per cent to 37,900.

Auckland secured 30.5 per cent of the dealer-to-public market in January with 4,836 sales.

That was down slightly compared to December and November when its share was 32 and 33 per cent respectively, especially taking into account the festive season.

There were 3,752 trade-ins in January, which was a six per cent drop, while private sales rose by 1.8 per cent to 12,693.

Ian Charlton, director of Advantage Cars, which has two branches in the city, told Autofile: “We had our best year in 2013 and that’s why I decided to open another dealership in Penrose.

“There’s a lot of talk nowadays that people buy across the country because of Trade Me. “But 80 per cent of cars sold from our Manukau site are to clients in Manukau. In Penrose, 15 per cent are to people in Manukau, which is only nine kilometres down the road.

“On average, we sell 10 per cent of our vehicles outside Auckland.

People are buying cars they can’t get anywhere else and tend to

shop locally for standard stuff.”

Charlton also says customers are now “more accepting of finance” than 18 months ago.

Grant Chapman, of 4Guys Autobarn in Hamilton, says: “We’ve changed a bit of our stock so we now have more unique American stuff and that’s appealing to a wider range of customers.

“We’re always looking at how we can have a good mix of stock and improve our online presence.”

He says the value of the Kiwi dollar to the yen means the business is importing more used vehicles from Japan.

Arthur Murray, of Hatchback Autos Ltd in Kelston, West Auckland, says trading so far this year has been quite good, but margins are low and that’s been the case for about a year.

“We mainly sell Toyotas because they don’t tend to break and we don’t get warranty claims. They are small and medium-sized hatchbacks.”

He says business last year came in about the same as 2012, but nothing like five to six years ago – “and nothing like 10 years ago, come to that”.

Around the country, Wanganui posted the highest rise in trader-topublic sales, with 197 transactions up from 153, or by 28.8 per cent, compared to last January.

The city also fared the best with trade-ins, which went up by 33.6 per cent from 107 to 143.

Gisborne had the second highest trader-to-public increase – up from 172 to 199 sales, or by 15.7 per cent.

Masterton was second for tradeins, which rose by 21.3 per cent from 80 to 97.

Secondhand car sales - January 2014 Jan '14

Dealer-To-Public Jan '13 +/- %

MARKET SHARE

Jan '14

Public-To-Public Jan '13

+/- %

Jan '14

Public-To-Dealer Jan '13

+/- %

Whangarei

472

445

6.1

2.98

1683

1574

6.9

247

239

3.3

Auckland

4836

4975

-2.8

30.48

12693

12465

1.8

3752

3992

-6.0

Hamilton

1366

1285

6.3

8.61

2911

2854

2.0

1203

1131

6.4

Thames

187

199

-6.0

1.18

435

414

5.1

83

93

-10.8

Tauranga

846

778

8.7

5.33

1853

1724

7.5

590

570

3.5

Rotorua

272

247

10.1

1.71

677

645

5.0

125

149

-16.1

Gisborne

199

172

15.7

1.25

341

356

-4.2

87

108

-19.4

Napier

568

567

0.2

3.58

1390

1328

4.7

379

429

-11.7

New Plymouth

451

440

2.5

2.84

1043

956

9.1

265

271

-2.2

Wanganui

197

153

28.8

1.24

412

451

-8.6

143

107

33.6

Palmerston North

787

743

5.9

4.96

1558

1526

2.1

642

635

1.1

Masterton

154

142

8.5

0.97

320

346

-7.5

97

80

21.2

Wellington

-0.5

1381

1373

0.6

8.71

2692

2598

3.6

1122

1128

Nelson

317

332

-4.5

2.00

964

879

9.7

247

246

0.4

Blenheim

192

182

5.5

1.21

369

333

10.8

125

109

14.7 13.0

Greymouth

89

96

-7.3

0.56

184

205

-10.2

52

46

Westport

31

27

14.8

0.20

93

114

-18.4

2

-

-

2144

2166

-1.0

13.51

4976

4817

3.3

1824

1611

13.2

Timaru

238

261

-8.8

1.50

547

465

17.6

160

177

-9.6

Oamaru

64

76

-15.8

0.40

186

215

-13.5

21

31

-32.3

Christchurch

Dunedin

677

684

-1.0

4.27

1681

1519

10.7

464

414

12.1

Invercargill

396

430

-7.9

2.50

892

864

3.2

281

312

-9.9

15864

15773

0.6

100.00

37900

36648

3.4

11911

11878

0.3

NZ total

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www.autofile.co.nz | 23

Passenger Car Sales by Private/Business split - MIA statistics Make

Private

% Private

6

22.2

Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi

Business % Business

21

77.8

Total

27

5

71.4

2

28.6

7

80

44.4

100

55.6

180

Bentley

4

66.7

2

33.3

6

BMW

81

41.5

114

58.5

195

Chery

14

73.7

5

26.3

19

Chrysler

4

33.3

8

66.7

12

Citroen

19

38.0

31

62.0

50

2

50.0

2

50.0

4

Daihatsu Dodge

25

56.8

19

43.2

44

Ferrari

1

100.0

0

0.0

1

Fiat

13

40.6

19

59.4

32

Ford

150

18.2

676

81.8

826

3

30.0

7

70.0

10

Great Wall Holden

227

26.5

631

73.5

858

Honda

244

68.0

115

32.0

359

Hyundai

210

31.6

454

68.4

664

3

23.1

10

76.9

13

Jaguar Jeep

25

26.0

71

74.0

96

104

42.8

139

57.2

243

Lamborghini

2

100.0

0

0.0

2

Land Rover

45

49.5

46

50.5

91

Lexus

12

30.0

28

70.0

40

Lotus

1

100.0

0

0.0

1

Maserati

1

20.0

4

80.0

5

182

34.9

339

65.1

521

60

30.2

139

69.8

199

Kia

Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mini

37

58.7

26

41.3

63

Mitsubishi

240

68.0

113

32.0

353

Nissan

314

70.7

130

29.3

444

Peugeot

55

55.0

45

45.0

100

Porsche

34

77.3

10

22.7

44

Renault

0

0.0

2

100.0

2

Skoda

22

29.3

53

70.7

75

SsangYong

39

50.0

39

50.0

78

Subaru

42

26.6

116

73.4

158

Suzuki

284

54.0

242

46.0

526

Toyota

222

15.1

1245

84.9

1467

Volkswagen

244

60.5

159

39.5

403

12

26.7

33

73.3

45

Volvo Other

0

0.0

9

100.0

9

Total

3068

37.1

5204

62.9

8272

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

Hyundai demand outstrips stock T

he battle of the marques in January finished with the same one-two-three face-off as December, with Toyota leading the way followed by Holden and Ford in third spot.

But when it came to sales of new passenger cars – including SUVs – the world’s biggest manufacturer’s total fell in the first month of the new year while those of its closest rivals picked up.

Toyota despatched 1,467 units in January, of which 1,245 were business registrations, while its overall December total was 1,745.

It had the biggest proportion of business sales out of all marques selling more than 10 units.

Holden’s total last month came to 858 with 631 business sales representing 73.5 per cent. In December, 689 cars with the lionand-stone badge were registered.

The blue oval improved from 618 registrations in December to 826 in January. Its proportion of business sales, including rental and government transactions, was also high at 81.8 per cent, or 676 units.

Nissan recorded the highest proportion of private transactions among marques selling more than 50 units last month – it sold 314 vehicles in this sector, which was 70.7 per cent of its 444 total registrations.

Honda and Mitsubishi tied on 68 per cent private registrations, Volkswagen came next on 60.5 per cent and Suzuki was fifth on 54 per cent.

Hyundai came fourth on last month’s ladder with 664 sales – 454, or 68.4 per cent, were business registrations.

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Andy Sinclair, general manager of Hyundai NZ, says the marque’s business-private split is in-line with the market.

“The private share of iX35 is particularly pleasing given its position as a class leader, however sales of the Santa Fe have also been impressive given this highly competitive segment,” he told Autofile.

Despite strong sales, the distributor has suffered stock shortages of the Santa Fe DM and iX35.

“In spite of this, the DM still ended up as the number-one large SUV by sales and iX35 was the number-one small SUV. “We were very pleased with the sales across the entire range but we just couldn’t get enough stock.”

Sinclair is looking forward to this year’s launches of the new Sonata and Genesis sedan.

And with the commercial vehicle market booming, he says: “We’d love to have a ute in our range, but there are currently no production plans.”

Looking at the overall market, 8,272 new passenger cars and SUVs were registered in January.

Of those, 5,204 – or 62.9 per cent – were business sales.

Mercedes-Benz toppled BMW off top spot in the prestige sector last month, according to statistics published by the Motor Industry Association.

The marque sold 199 units last month and 69.8 per cent – or 139 – were business registrations.

BMW was only four sales behind, though, with 58.5 per cent of its 195 transactions being for business.

Ute demand boosts market T

otal new commercial registrations came to 2,235 last month, which was up by 327 units, or 17 per cent, ahead of January 2013 while passenger vehicle sales amounted to 8,293 – up by 908 units and 12 per cent.

Overall sales of 10,528 were more than 13 per cent ahead of the same month last year, while SUVs represented 27 per cent of new registrations in January.

They were followed by small passenger cars on 26 per cent, and pick-ups and chassis-cabs with 14 per cent.

New commercial sales have been picking up in rural areas, with reports of farmers renewing vehicles. Demand is also high in some urban areas, such as

Christchurch due to the rebuild.

Jim Wright, managing director of Jim Wright Nissan in Hamilton, says: “The Qashqai is a run-out for us and there’s really aggressive pricing at the moment.”

He points out the rural sector is performing well, with a huge amount of building work taking place.

“A lot of companies are choosing our city as a base because it’s a costeffective place to carry out business and it’s centrally located.”

Lyndon Moore, sales manager at Smallbone Ltd in Ashburton, says farmers are investing wisely after seeking advice, which contributes to the franchise’s sales rate being higher than average.

“It could change in another month, but as long as we get rain

things will be good. Everyone has their hard years, but we stay pretty positive.”

Regional irrigation projects have also boosted business. “If we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t have one-third of the business we’re doing.”

More buyers are researching online and Moore is positive about local growth with people retiring to the town to be closer to family in the Garden City. Many sub-divisions are going in and retirement villages built.

“For a lot of customers, finance has been sorted before they come in, but we’ve had more people talking about leasing.”

Moore says Holden’s Captiva is selling well along with the

Colorado and Commodore, while there’s a trend towards mid-size cars, such as the Cruze.

The business has moved into a new dealership outside town and this brings Smallbone’s sales and service teams together on one site.

Extra service, sales and parts positions have boosted staff levels by about 45 per cent with nine people coming on-board.

Euan Means, dealer principal of Ingham Hyundai, says the Santa Fe had been a strong performer, with the SUV popular among fleet buyers, businesses and families in Hamilton.

The franchise’s service department is operating a 12-hour shift, six days a week, as part of its focus on customer satisfaction and the retention rate that it brings.

NEW VEHICLE MARKET SEGMENTATION - January 2014

NEW VEHICLE SALES BY BUYER TYPE - January 2014 Jan '14

Jan '13

Mth %

2014 YTD

2013 YTD

% YTD

Passenger

5,388

4,834

11.5

5,388

4,834

11.5

Passenger

5,388

4,834

11.5

5,388

4,834

11.5

Private

1,901

1,600

18.8

1,901

1,600

18.8

SUV

2,884

2,513

14.8

2,884

2,513

14.8

Business

2,150

1,782

20.7

2,150

1,782

20.7

Light Commercial

1,919

1,663

15.4

1,919

1,663

15.4

192

177

8.5

192

177

8.5

Heavy Commercial

302

225

34.2

302

225

34.2

35

53

-34.0

35

53

-34.0

10,528

9,288

13.4

10,528

9,288

13.4

Light

1,349

1,302

3.6

1,349

1,302

3.6

Small

2,686

2,061

30.3

2,686

2,061

30.3

Medium

642

695

-7.6

642

695

-7.6

Large

424

530

-20.0

424

530

-20.0

Gov’t Rental SUV

1,145

1,275

-10.2

1,145

1,275

-10.2

2,884

2,513

14.8

2,884

2,513

14.8

Private

1,167

914

27.7

1,167

914

27.7

Business

1,432

1,353

5.8

1,432

1,353

5.8

Jan '14

Other Total market

Jan '13 Mth% diff

2014 YTD

2013 YTD % YTD

Gov’t

37

41

-9.8

37

41

-9.8

Rental

248

205

21.0

248

205

21.0

1,919

1,663

15.4

1,919

1,663

15.4

Upper Large

58

29

100.0

58

458

361

26.9

458

361

26.9

People Movers

78

77

1.3

78

77

1.3

1,390

1,194

16.4

1,390

1,194

16.4

Sports

151

140

7.9

151

140

7.9

Gov’t

56

85

-34.1

56

85

-34.1

SUV Small

747

514

45.3

747

514

45.3

Rental

15

23

-34.8

15

23

-34.8

SUV Medium

1,030

954

8.0

1,030

954

8.0

10,191

9,010

13.1

10,191

9,010

13.1

SUV Large

1,056

1,002

5.4

1,056

1,002

5.4

Private

3,526

2,875

22.6

3,526

2,875

22.6

SUV Upper Large

51

43

18.6

51

43

18.6

Business

4,972

4,329

14.9

4,972

4,329

14.9

Light Buses

24

32

-25.0

24

32

-25.0

285

303

-5.9

285

303

-5.9

Vans

377

346

9.0

377

346

9.0

Pick Up/Chassis Cab 4x2

581

437

33.0

581

437

33.0

Pick Up/Chassis Cab 4x4

937

848

10.5

937

848

10.5

Heavy Commercial

302

225

34.2

302

225

34.2

35

53

-34.0

35

53

-34.0

10,528

9,288

13.4

10,528

9,288

13.4

Light Commercial Private Business

Sub Total

Gov’t Rental

1,408

1,503

-6.3

1,408

1,503

-6.3

302

225

34.2

302

225

34.2

Other

35

53

-34.0

35

53

-34.0

Total

10,528

9,288

13.4

10,528

9,288

13.4

Heavy Commercial

Other Total market

29 100.0

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Ph 0800 500 832 or visit www.udc.co.nz

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www.autofile.co.nz | 25

new car stock

Stock held for constant flow significantly during the global financial crisis, for instance,” Crawford explains.

“Each company has its own policies on stocking up, while certain models are constrained.

“If you take January as an example, Nissan sold more Navaras than Toyota did Hiluxes, and it was the first time that had happened for a long time.

“Nissan had about one-third of private dealers running specials in January, while the Hilux had a great November and December.

“This meant the Hilux was a bit stock-constrained last month and shows stock levels can vary after two good months by dipping in the third month.”

Crawford describes the new vehicle market as strong at the moment, which was demonstrated by high levels of sales in January.

“October, November and December were strongest months on record for commercials and that continued into January.

“Passenger vehicle sales last month also had their best January, so the month was surprisingly strong.

“At the moment, we think more units could be sold than in 2013 and that was a strong year. Many in the industry are expecting 113,000, others are saying 115,000 and 120,000 is optimistic.”

A number of factors are contributing to good sales.

The dollar’s strength means it’s cheaper to buy overseas, the economy is doing well and consumer confidence is high.

“These factors mean people are prepared to spend on bigticket items but if one changes, expectations may have to be reassessed,” says Crawford.

“There’s also some competitive pricing going on, so there has never been a better time to buy a new car.”

Dealer stock of new cars in New Zealand Average Days sales per stock day - YTD at hand

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

95,767

82,433

13,334

40,201

Jan ‘14

6,602

8,293

1,691

YTD total

6,602

8,293

1,691

Predicted sales for 2014

38,510

S

8500

26 8000 | www.autofile.co.nz 7500

Aroun

westport thames napier

wanganui gisborne timaru

PassengeR Vehicle RegistRatiOns

New versus used

7000

new

new

2012)

2012

Imported

Biggest increases

NeW CArS SoLd

2011 MIA stock estimate as at end of December Used

Used 8545

New

6000 5000

Annual high for stockpile

StoCk

dAyS AVerAge SALeS per StoCk dAy - ytd At hANd

12,984

Oct ‘12

8,155

 41.7% 2,630 21,674  20.0% 191 21,865 6,637  12.4% 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

90,754 ytd total RegistRatiOns Used Vehicle

76,871

13,883

Apr ‘12

Blenheim 5,026 nelson 7,368 rotorua 7,228

(2,473) 7,499 95.5% 1,735 5,633 64.9%

Jul ‘12  27.7% Aug ‘12  26.8% Sep ‘12  23.7%

Jan ‘13 Feb ‘13 North Island Mar ‘13

43

223

55

218

59

13,830

209

66

5,942

1,800

15,630

205

7,142 8,870 Used 6,208 7,894

1,728

17,358

211

1,686

19,044

209

westport 8,589 Masterton 6,828 timaru

2013

242

12,246

12,975

7,742 Biggest May ‘12 decreases Jun ‘12

10,511

729 6,499 52.0% 855 5,430

6,285

5,959

7,336

Imported

NeW CArS SoLd

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

T

he 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

other centres.

“But 80 per cent of New Zealand’s population is in Auckland and

VArIANCe 6740

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 January to 131 in October. vehicle sales overall.”

Last year 90,754 units were Business confidence being imported and there were 76,871 regional Make high and strong Nov '13 Nov '12 of 13,883. +/- % sales for a variance economies in Auckland and

82

91

207

105

209

105

New Passenger Vehicle Sales

Toyota

StoCk

dAyS AVerAge SALeS per StoCk dAy - ytd At hANd

Holden

Port Calls

26,867

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

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

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

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

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

(2,030)

24,837

238

104

7,027

5,799

1,228

26,065

223

117

6,329

6,800

(471)

25,594

222

115

180

Ford

160

Hyundai

Osaka 140 120

Mazda

1746

1190

572

624 20 Oct

oversupply issue.

“There was good buying in Japan in March, and we saw high arrival numbers in April, May and June. stockpile occurs more at November“The 2013 certain times of the year. Since I came back into the industry in Nov '13 2013 Mkt Mkt Share 2013 total Make Share

by Make -

New Passenger Vehicle Sales

LATEST SCHEDULE 46.7

Model Days stock in nZ - UseD import cars

23.4%

14670 19.3% Toyota Hoegh Xiamen Corolla Sepang 685 Express Morning 673 Miracle 1.8 9.2% 8102 10.7% Toyota 618 V20 V9 596 V5RAV4 3.7 8.3% 6519

Days stock in nZ - new cars

180

160

512

2013

485

-8.3 5.6

7.7% 6.9%

30 6695 Oct

140

120

8.6%

8.8%

Holden

Mazda

Commodore

15 Nov Cx-5

Nov '13

626 289 260 239

always been the w “You can overs buying conditions the marketplace n itself by pulling ba selling down. The drop for a month trundling up agai “There’s no ma miracle. When it’s slow for everybod good supply with rate, everyone be

Dealer stock of used car imports in New Zeal 2012

Imported

USed ImportS VArIANCe SoLd

Jan ‘12

3,191

6,375

(3,184)

5,395

Feb ‘12

4,920

6,000

(1,080)

4,315

Mar ‘12

6,504

6,429

75

4,390

Apr ‘12

6,613

5,877

736

5,126

May ‘12

7,693

6,793

900

6,026

Jun ‘12

6,947

6,184

763

6,789

Jul ‘12

5,335

6,641

(1,306)

5,483

Aug ‘12

5,540

6,621

(1,081)

4,402

Sep ‘12

5,506

6,222

(716)

3,68

Oct ‘12

5,688

6,867

(1,179)

2,50

Nov ‘12

8,486

7,183

1,303

3,81

Dec ‘12

6,414

7,119

(705)

78,311

by Mode ytd total l - Novem72,837 ber 2013

Nov '12

+/% 2013

Mar ‘13 52.0

29 Nov Apr ‘13 141

69.5

3.5%

8,852

2399

10,539

3,10

(5,474)

USed ImportS VArIANCe Nov MktImported 2013 2013 Mkt SoLd Share total Share

end of December 2012 Total Liberty 462 35.5stock at the8.4% 5283 6.9% 7,397 4,468 Jan ‘13 80 V1261.3 3.9% 2521 6,922 8,247 Feb ‘13 3.3%

171

StoCk

8,579

Total stock at the end of December 2011

TWO SAILINGS PER MONTH JAPAN TO NZ 76

7,385

5,355

Christchurch are boosting sales.

“Trades people are upgrading their vehicles,” says Crawford.

“Although passenger cars aren’t so

ENGAGE

VArIANCe

&

 100.0% Jan ‘12  51.2% Feb ‘12  34.1% Mar ‘12

Total stock at the end of December 2012

9000 8000

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

North IslaNd versus south IslaNd

10000

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

Biggest increases/Decreases By town year-on-year of new cars in New Zealand - Oct 2013 stock (OctOberDealer 2013 vs OctOber

CONNECT try

9000

co

c t o b e r 2 0 13

xxxxxxxxx

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

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

un

9500

40

144

online wholesale trading site.

he

2012

0 manages levels well Industry

268

autoport.net

10000

80

xxxxxxxxxxx 20

97,643 The TRUSTED

d

100

tock levels of new cars have increased every month except one this year, with October’s total of 29,509 being the

Whangarei tAuckland 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 AucklandoHamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua

2013

120

60

Days Average sales per stock day - YTD at hand

SOLD

2014

140

Jun

Imported

Total stock at the end of December 2013

160

May

2014

Stock

180

APr

Variance

NEW CARS

Days stock in NZ - New Cars

Dec

104

223

Nov

238

26,065

Oct

24,837

1,228

Sep

(2,030)

5,799

AUG

7,385

7,027

JUL

5,355

Feb ‘13

Total sales in 2013

STACKING UP THE NUMBERS

ck

Jan ‘13

amount crossing our wharves.

There were 95,767 units imported and 82,433 registrations in 2013 for a difference of 13,334.

The biggest month last year for imports was August on 11,065.

Sales topped 6,828 for the year’s biggest variance of 4,237 in favour of cars crossing the border.

The highest surplus of sales over imports – 2,030 units – was last January when there were 5,355 arrivals and 7,385 registrations, while October returned the highest sales figure of 7,962.

The total stock figure at the end of December 2012 was 26,867 and by the end of last year that had nudged up to 40,201 with steady month-on-month increases except in March and September.

This year has started in the opposite vein to 2013, with 6,602 new cars imported against 8,293 sold.

That was a difference of 1,691 between registrations and arrivals – and compared to last year’s monthly average of 1,111 units.

Stock-in-hand by the end of January sat at 38,510 units, with average sales per day increasing to 268.

There was a difference of 16.17 per cent between new cars sold in New Zealand last year compared to the

26,867

Mar

SOLD

Total stock at the end of December 2012

Days of stock

Imported

Stock

Feb

Variance

NEW CARS

2013

JAN

S

ome manufacturers constrain their supply of stock so there’s a constant flow onto the market, says David Crawford, chief executive officer of the Motor Industry Association.

There can also be gaps in sales with much depending on when the next shipment arrives and model availability at the source.

“A manufacturer might get a certain amount of units to cover four months and prefer to do it like that instead of running out,” he says. “From a marketing perspective, would-be customers don’t come back.”

New vehicles are held between wholesalers and dealerships, and over the past five years the stock total has tracked between 14,000 and 23,000 units.

“Sales go up and down like stock with levels reducing

StoCk

310

(2,929)

17

1,325

1,50

1,271

2,77

3.2% 7,418

3,121

5,89

8,460

2,507

8,40

7,581

used car stock

Seasonal factors come into play

175

239

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

8,632

8,648

(16)

7,382

263

28

7,481

7,615

(134)

7,248

262

0.7

01

243

6

72

243

11

93

244

24

00

250

34

119

7,816

6,102

1,714

26,867

211

128

90,754

76,871

13,883

Oct ‘12

223

12,975

218

855

13,830

209

1,800

15,630

205

1,728

17,358

211

1,686

19,044

209

91

2,630

21,674

207

105

191

21,865

209

105

819

22,684

211

107

55

59

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

9,470 66

76

82

657

111,502

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

2013

NeW CArS SoLd

Imported

Jan ‘13

10,767

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

Used imPORt PassengeR Vehicle RegistRatiOns by city

aucklaNd, wellINgtoN, chrIstchurch

600

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

January to 131 in October.

Last year 90,754 units were imported and there were 76,871 sales for a variance of 13,883.

5,355

7,385

(2,030)

24,837

7,027

5,799

1,228

26,065

(471)

25,594

7,391

5,908

1,483

27,077

7,429

Osaka

6,347

1,082

28,159

8,051

238

104

223

117

214

132

220

138

34,293

9,362

7,962

1,400

35,693

-

-

-

-

-

Sep ‘13 Oct ‘13

Auckland -

Nov ‘13

-

-

Dec ‘13

Wellington 68,612

ytd total

77,438

2013 predicted sales

Lyttelton

82,380

8,826

222

154

226

158

22 Oct 7 Nov -

-

-

-

13 Nov

31 Oct

60

2012

Liberty V1

Make

Nov '13

Nov '12

60 40

17 Nov

1 Dec

20

17 Nov

4 Dec

0

19 Dec

23 Nov

11 Dec

11 Dec

26 Dec 29

Make Nov '13 TO 2013 totalDOOR Share 6.9% SERVICE +/- % PORT 8.4% 5283 GENERO Mkt Share 35.5 REWARD BUSINESS? 462 US LOOKING AT YOUR S

INCL

SHOULDN’T WE BE

oyota

Corolla

626

m ge

Days stock in nZ - Use

100

29 Nov 30 Nov

1 Nov

29 Nov

Jap it’s yo wh

140

15 Nov

40

16 Nov

ma ne ma

120

16 Nov

oct

(266)

30 Oct

80

nov

7,006

7,272

Aug ‘13

20 130 220 Oct

21 Oct157 220

sep

Yokohama

34,559

JUL

30,322

aUG

28,668

4,237

Morning Miracle V5

2013

JUn

509

1,654

6,828

8,423

11,065

apr

7,542

Nagoya6,769

Jul ‘13

100

may

May ‘13

goo peo are Ch

160

160

140 Hoegh Xiamen Sepang Express 115 222 120 V20125 216 V9

Feb

Port Calls 6,800 6,329

Apr ‘13

nor so t up,” swi hol

180

Dec

by Model - November 2013 New Passenger Vehicle Sales November 2013 2013 2013 Mkt www.autofile.co.nz

by Make - TARGETE Nov Mkt SPACE SING Share ADVERTI D Nov '12 +/- % New Passenger Vehicle Sales Share total '13 Nov Model 2013 Mkt

hamIltoN, tauraNga, duNedIN, PalmerstoN North

4320

Oct ‘13

1000

35

LATEST SCHEDULE

Jan

1805

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

180

26,867

Mar ‘13

Jun ‘13

South Island

305

Days stock in nZ - new cars

dAyS AVerAge SALeS per StoCk dAy - ytd At hANd

StoCk

VArIANCe

mar

2000

4000

4500

Feb ‘13

North Island

Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association, says the current stockpile should correct itself – as it

11,424

80

201

20

201

0

8 50 Feb

 41.7%ytd total  20.0%  12.4%

3000

2012

5000

5000

7,494 in September.

There have been two other

increases during 2013 – with Days Average major variances between imports and sales 3,121 in April and 2,507 in May. Stock sales per ofstock Graeme Macdonald, chairman other centres. day - YTD at North Island branch of the of thehand “But 80 per cent of New Zealand’s

TWO SAILINGS PER MONTH JAPAN TO NZ

Dec ‘12

4000

42

Jan

westport Masterton timaru

242

12,246

729

199 U trad hap con Con rece has

he 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

Days of stock

 27.7%  26.8%  23.7%

Nov ‘12 Used

43

10,511

1,735

271

T 41

| 27

JUn

212

Dec

Nov

Oct

Sep

AUG

25,153

JuL ‘13

5500

239

2,469

 95.5%Aug ‘12  64.9% Sep ‘12  52.0%

SEP ‘13

dAyS AVerAge SALeS per StoCk dAy - ytd At hANd

6,484

Used

AuG ‘13

6000

7,336

8,953

APr ‘13

14

6,637

8,155

JuN ‘13

215

5,959

6,828

MAy ‘13

18

7962

2013

6000

850 wds 213

8,589

Predicted sales for 2014

Blenheim nelson rotorua

Biggest decreases

FEb ‘13

6500

6,208

MAr ‘13

07

12

8545

New

Nov ‘12

18

211

7,142

7,894

new

DEC ‘12

21

209

8,813

8,870

Jul ‘12

JAN ‘13

210

5,942

Jun ‘12

YTD total

 100.0%  51.2%  34.1%

6000

Oct ‘13

2

86

7000

Used

8000

7000

JuL ‘13

26

May ‘12

7,742

Biggest increases

new

Used Vehicle RegistRatiOns

SEP ‘13

209

Apr ‘12

5,430

during 2012.

in 2009, There were 54,404 sales657 9,470 62,029 in 2010, 64,019 in 2011

(2,473)

11,424

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

Subscribe to the latest industry news for FREE by visiting www.autofile.co.nz/subscribe JuN ‘13

3

7500

(OctOber 2013 vs OctOber 2012)

6,285

North IslaNd versus south IslaNd

AuG ‘13

33

8,813

6,499

Total stock at the end of December 2012

9000

MAy ‘13

29

208

5,633

7,228

6740

FEb ‘13

25

208

9

7,499

7,368

Mar ‘12

7000

APr ‘13

206

6

westport thames napier

New versus used

MAr ‘13

209

6

12,984

5,026

Feb ‘12

PassengeR Vehicle RegistRatiOns

Nov ‘12

0

21

StoCk

VArIANCe

Variance

SOLD

dAyS AVerAge SALeS per StoCk dAy - ytd At hANd

Jan ‘12

Biggest increases/Decreases By town year-on-year

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10000

DEC ‘12

21

NeW CArS SoLd

MIA stock estimate as at end of December 2011

Jan ‘14

c t o b e r 2 0 13

9000

JAN ‘13

210

co

he

JUL

Aro Junu n

May

APr

Mar

Feb

JAN 9500

Imported

Imported

try

10000

USED IMPORTS

268

apr

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

10,891

may

533

8,319

Christchurch are boosting sales.

“Trades people are upgrading their vehicles,” says Crawford.

“Although passenger cars aren’t so

mar

9,534

98,971

Total stock 2012 at the end of December 2013

Whangarei tAuckland Hamilton Thames 2012 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 AucklandoHamilton Thames Tauranga Rotorua

d

“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

10,067

Dealer stock of new cars in New Zealand - Oct 2013

un

5

low of

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

year’s biggest Total sales inthis2013 107,290 month, also

2014

The TRUSTED online 2013 wholesale trading site.

0

8000

26

S

did come down after the global

that dropped to this year’s 11,184 9,360 financial crisis [GFC]. 1,824 18,653 in January.

tock levels of new cars have increased every month except one this year, with October’s total of 29,509 being the There were 7,962 sales last

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Dec ‘13 highest of 2013.

8500

dAyS AVerAge SALeS per StoCk dAy - ytd At hANd

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Days of stock

Days of stock

(2,930)

6,922

Nov ‘13

80

20

206

k

7,397

8,246

Oct ‘13

100

3105

4,467

Sep ‘13

120

Average Days sales per stock day - YTD at hand

Feb ‘13

Aug ‘13

2014

SOLD

Stock

Jan ‘13

60

5

76

Imported

Variance

Total stock at the end of December 2012

140

9

05

USED IMPORTS

2013

160

40

“On the outside, this seems to be a more orderly market but currency movements cause problems.

“When the value of our dollar changes, it’s not because it’s going up on the yen – it’s because the yen is going down in value on all markets.

“If you are buying used vehicles there, you’re still buying against the competition.”

The total stock-in-hand figure by the end of December was 11,424, with month-on-month increases from September to the end of last year.

The first month of 2014 resulted in stock levels dropping from 11,424 in December to 10,767 used imports, with days of stock in hand dropping from 42 to 35.

The total of used imported cars came to 8,813 last month, which compared to 9,470 sales for a variance of 657.

Dealer stock of imported used cars in New Zealand

180

aland - Oct 2013

05

dollar had quite an impact on the market last year.

“It’s was something like 64 against our dollar around December 2012 and it wasn’t so long ago that it was touching 74 and 84,” recalls Everett.

“This created advantages for bringing over used imports. If you take a free-on-board price of $6,000 for a vehicle and work backwards, that’s about a 30 per cent change in value between 64 and 74.

“The industry has to accommodate currency volatility.

If you’re not buying now, others will be and can undercut you when the yen uplifts.

“If the yen goes down, you might hold out for good money that doesn’t come and you can only sell once.”

Everett points out that the market is different with new vehicles because list-price positions don’t change – but transaction prices do.

Days stock in NZ - Used Import Cars

way. supply when s are good, but normally corrects ack from Japan or e numbers might or two before in. agic supply-chain slow, it tends to be dy. If you can get h a good exchange enefits.”

10

through the global financial crisis when stock went through the floor to now,” he says.

“There will always be historical high points, but stock tends to level out in the long term.

“There are some seasonal factors when it comes to stock in hand and sales because our market doesn’t necessarily match Japan’s used export market.”

Arrivals can be high in March, April and May and then from September through to November, which can reflect activity – or a lack of it – in Japan when it’s winter or Golden Week.

“Arrivals in New Zealand can also be seasonal and might not tie in with seasonal impacts in Japan,” Everett told Autofile.

“This may compact at the end of our year with heavy arrivals.

If dealers are out of stock, or are worried they will be, that’s when the pressure can go on.

“Other factors include changes to the exhaust emissions rules.

It may be critical to get vehicles complied by December 31, but these occasions are quite rare.”

The yen’s cross-rate with the

Dec

T

here was an 8.4 per cent difference between imported used cars sold in New Zealand during 2013 compared to arrivals.

Last year saw 107,290 units cross the border with 98,971 registrations creating an unsold stockpile of 8,319 cars.

The biggest month for registrations was July with 9,629 units, while November recorded the highest used imports total of 11,184.

January saw the biggest difference between arrivals and sales. There were 7,397 registrations compared to 4,467 units imported for a variance of 2,930.

April tracked in the opposite direction when 7,418 registrations stacked up against 10,531 imports – a difference of 3,113 units.

Tony Everett, dealer services and mediation manager at the Motor Trade Association, says it’s always hard to know what the actual stockpile is because there will always be losses with vehicles being registered as commercials, while some imports don’t arrive.

“We have monitored the cumulative position from 2004 –

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