Value of EV imports drops $102m
The value of electric passenger cars imported into New Zealand last month dropped by more than $100 million, when compared with May 2023, according to new figures from Stats NZ.
The fall was a major factor in the total value of imported vehicles, parts and accessories tumbling $154m, or 16 per cent, over the same timeframe to $824m.
Passenger cars alone slipped $115m, or 19 per cent, to $474m in May, with electric passenger cars accounting for $102m of that figure after falling 72 per cent to $39m.
A further breakdown of the values of imported vehicles, parts and accessories from New Zealand’s major trading partners shows such items from the EU and the US in May increased by $33m and $16m respectively, compared with a year ago.
At the same time, the value of those imports from China fell by $70m, from Australia was down $30m, and from South Korea slipped by $22m.
The total value for imports overall in May increased by $39m, or 0.6 per cent, to $7 billion. As for exports, those rose $202m, or 2.9 per cent, to $7.2b and this meant the monthly trade balance was a surplus of $204m.
