Fortunes at border vary

There were 8,941 used passenger vehicles imported last month, which was up by 42 per cent from 6,297 in November 2022.

However, the latest figure represented a drop of 2.9 per cent from October when 9,205 units crossed our borders.

The year-to-date total for 2023 is now 108,004 – up from 82,002 and by 31.7 per cent compared with this time last year, according to figures from Customs NZ. 

Last month, 8,764 units were imported from Japan for a 98 per cent share of the market. Australia placed second with 84 units, followed by the UK on 35, Singapore with 22 and the US on 14. 

As for used light commercials, 365 crossed the border in November to bring the year-to-date total to 4,099. That figure is an increase of 16.6 per cent from 3,516 by the same time last year.

Last month’s figure was down 17.6 per cent from the 443 units in October this year but up 9.3 per cent from 334 in the same month of 2022.

New sector lags

When it comes to new passenger vehicles, there were 7,832 brought into New Zealand last month. 

November’s figure means 91,335 vehicles have come in so far in 2023, which is a decrease of 13.6 per cent on the 105,707 units over the same period a year ago.

Last month’s figure was 31.9 per cent lower than November 2022 when it came in at 11,493 new cars. It also represented a 27.3 per cent drop from October this year when there were 10,778 units.

Japan was the main country of export with 5,057 units followed by China with 845. Next up was Korea on 809, Thailand with 611 and Belgium on 225.

For new light commercials, there were 2,704 units imported in November, an increase of 8.6 per cent from 2,490 in the same month a year ago. The total was also up 72.8 per cent from the 1,565 units in October this year.

It took the year-to-date figure to 22,831 units, down 25.2 per cent from 30,532 after the first 11 months of last year.

Overall, 18,080 vehicles, including trucks and buses, crossed our border in November. This was down from 23,736 in the previous month.