Japanese car imports hit $2b in 2016

Vehicles, parts and accessories imports from Japan and the EU increased in 2016, according to figures released by Statistics New Zealand. The vehicles, parts and accessories segment remain the top import commodity, and was valued at $7.2 billion last year. Barring Australia, vehicle imports rose across the board, including the EU, Japan, USA, and South Korea. Vehicle, parts and accessories imports from the European Union grew 12 per cent in value to $1.94 billion, with Germany providing 27,000 of the 45,000 vehicles imported. Mechanical machinery and equipment imports increased 5.9 per cent to $1.76 billion in 2016. Electrical machinery and equipment imports, however, fell 9.1 per cent to $466 million. Vehicle imports from Japan increased 9.5 per cent to $2.03 billion, crossing the two-billion-dollar mark for the first time. Mechanical machinery and equipment imports were up 13.5 per cent to $553 million, and electrical machinery imports fell 26 per cent to $104 million. Petroleum was the highest-value import commodity from South Korea, and grew 12 per cent to $647 million. Vehicle imports grew the most proportionally of the markets Statistics NZ studied, up 19.5 per cent to $515 million. American vehicle imports also rose, up 4.7 per cent from 2016 to $601 million. It remains the third-largest commodity behind mechanical machinery imports, which decreased 5.6 per cent to $1.2 billion, and aircraft and parts, which fell 13.5 per cent to $1 billion. Vehicle imports from Australia fell 6.8 per cent to $424 million as Australian prepare to close down for good this October and send production to Europe and Japan. Mechanical machinery imports also dropped 7 per cent to $381 million.