Imports mostly in decline

There were 9,553 used passenger vehicles imported last month for a decrease of 16.2 per cent when compared to November 2019’s total of 11,401.

Total arrivals from Japan came in at 8,872. This was down from 10,670 in the same month of last year, or by 16.9 per cent.

In addition, 415 used cars were imported from Australia during November and 120 arrived from Singapore. The totals for the UK and US were 73 and 37 respectively.

It means that so far in 2020, some 96,591 used cars have crossed our border for a decrease of 25.2 per cent from 129,097 units over the same 11-month period in 2019.

As for used light commercials, imports increased from 233 in October to 297 in November. However, last month’s figures were 59.7 per cent lower, or 440 units, down from November 2019.

Contrasting fortunes

There were 7,483 new passenger vehicles imported in November to bring the year-to-date total to 68,576.

A total of 4,014 units came in from Japan and 1,277 from South Korea. Next up was Thailand with 657, the UK with 472 and Belgium on 290.

However, the monthly tally was down 20.5 per cent from the previous November and fell below the previous two months, when 8,440 units were imported in September and 8,998 in October.

New light commercials bucked the trend of the other categories and the monthly tally was up from the same month a year ago. There were 2,048 units imported in November, an increase of 20.8 per cent from 1,696.

Overall, 19,829 vehicles, including trucks and buses, crossed our border in November to take the year-to-date total to 193,335 units.