Vehicle imports rebound in May

A total of 16,666 used passenger vehicles crossed the border last month, a 32 per cent increase compared to May 2016. So far, 73,692 used cars have been imported into New Zealand during the year to date. As usual, the vast majority of used imported vehicles came from Japan, 15,727 units entered New Zealand which is a 27.9 per cent rise on April’s imports and 32.7 per cent up on the same month last year when 12,563 used cars came in. There was also an increase in used cars coming in from Britain and Australia, when compared to May 2016 - British imports rose 160.3 per cent to 190 units, and Australia sent 519 used cars, up 31.4 per cent. It was also a good month for new passenger vehicles, with imports up 18 per cent on May last year to 9,655 units, the best figures since December 2016. Year to date, 43,690 new cars have been imported into New Zealand, compared to 38,237 for the same period last year, an increase of 14.3 per cent. In terms of light commercial vehicle imports, used increased 40 per cent from 438 last May to 614 units last month. New light commercial imports rose 22.1 per cent from 2309 in May 2016 to 2,819 units last month.