Value of EV imports plunges $112m

The value of imported vehicles, parts and accessories came in at $776 million in July, down $217m or 22 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 $165m, or 27 per cent, to $456m, which was in turn driven by electric models suffering a $112m, or 81 per cent, drop in value to $26m.

When breaking the figures down by country, vehicles, parts and accessories delivered the largest falls for imports from the European Union and China last month, dropping $159m and $20m respectively.

In contrast, the same category of commodities imported from Australia grew by $12m year-on-year.

Despite the drop for the automotive sector, last month’s total value for all merchandise goods imports grew by $558m, or 8.5 per cent, from a year ago to $7.1b.

Petroleum products were on the up over the same period, with a 101 per cent increase to $664m.

Exports for July increased by $770m, or 14 per cent, to reach $6.1b. This meant the monthly trade balance was a surplus of $963m.

The latest overseas merchandise trade figures from Stats NZ also reveals vehicles, parts and accessories recorded a decrease in value for the three months ended July 2024, dropping 21 per cent from the same period a year earlier to hit $2.4b.

For the year to the end of July, automotive commodities slipped 14 per cent from a year earlier to $10.1b.