New sector drives up imports
There were 4,730 used passenger vehicles imported last month, a drop of 48.6 per cent from the same month a year ago when 9,205 units crossed our borders.
October’s figure marked the fourth consecutive month of declines and was also down by 6.7 per cent from 5,071 units in September this year.
The year-to-date total for 2024 is now 74,593 – down 24.7 per cent compared with 99,040 at the same time last year, according to the latest figures from Customs NZ.
Last month, 4,541 units were imported from Japan for a 96 per cent share of the market. Australia was next with 109 units, followed by the UK on 32 and the US with 16.
As for used light commercials, 178 crossed the border in October to bring the year-to-date total to 2,961. That figure is down by 20.5 per cent from 3,726 by the same time last year.
Last month’s figure was also 27.6 per cent lower than the 246 units imported in September this year and down 59.1 per cent from 435 in October 2023.
Monthly surge
As for new passenger vehicles, there were 8,433 units brought into New Zealand last month.
October’s tally means 74,535 vehicles have come in so far in 2024, which is a decrease of 10.2 per cent on the 83,000 units over the same period a year ago.
Last month’s figure was up by 21.3 per cent from September this year when the monthly total was 6,954 new cars.
However, it was 21.6 per cent lower than the 10,751 units imported in October 2023.
Japan was the main country of export with 3,882 units followed by Thailand with 1,608. Next up was South Korea on 995, China with 636, Germany on 328 and Belgium with 305.
For new light commercials, there were 2,659 units imported in October, a jump of 191.9 per cent from 911 in September this year.
The total was also only down by 1.7 per cent from 2,704 in the same month a year ago.
It took the year-to-date figure to 18,513 units, which is 17.8 per cent fewer than the 22,512 recorded over the same period of 2023.
Overall, 16,409 vehicles, including trucks and buses, crossed our border in October. This was up from 13,546 in the previous month.
