Value of car imports falls $140m

The value of imported vehicles, parts and accessories came in at $773 million in June, down $252 or 25 per cent from the same month a year ago, according to new figures from Stats NZ.

This was led by passenger cars coming into the country falling $140m, or 22 per cent, to $488m.

Stats NZ notes the largest fall for imports from South Korea last month was vehicles, parts and accessories being down by $31m from a year ago, while the same category of imports from Australia fell $14m.

The overall drop for the sector contributed to last month’s total value for all merchandise goods imports falling year-on-year by $821m, or 13 per cent, to $5.5b.

Petroleum and products suffered the biggest decline in value over that period, with a $441m, or 55 per cent, decrease to $367m.

Exports for June 2024 fell by $7.4m, or 0.1 per cent, and came in at $6.2b. This meant the monthly trade balance was a surplus of $699m.

The latest overseas merchandise trade figures from Stats NZ also show vehicles, parts and accessories recorded a decrease in value for the three months ended June 2024, dropping 18 per cent from the same period a year earlier to hit $2.3 billion.

For the year to the end of June, automotive commodities slipped 12 per cent from a year earlier to $10.6b.