Write-offs likely at auctions

A powerful earthquake that rocked Japan on Monday night is anticipated to have little direct impact on the automotive industry, although cars damaged because of the tremor may appear at auctions.

While the quake prompted a number of tsunami warnings and knocked out power to northern parts of the country, most vehicle manufacturers are located further south and their operations were not believed to be at immediate threat from the incident.

However, New Zealand importers of used vehicles may encounter cars impacted by the December 8 event when trying to source units.

Malcolm Yorston, technical support at the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (VIA), says: “Insurance write-offs will be likely through the auction system but the border and compliance inspections should pick damaged cars up and I understand the NZTA has access to Japan systems to check on flood or typhoon damage so I don’t think there is too much to worry about.”

Greig Epps, VIA’s chief executive, adds: “This sort of serious damage is exactly what the border inspection system was introduced to find and flag for entry certifiers and regulators. 

“We have confidence in the Japanese system to track and flag damaged vehicles, which means lower risk of them being bought by NZ importers.”

The earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Aomori Prefecture, which is about 720km north of Tokyo.

Major marques are based a considerable distance from the epicentre of the quake as Nissan has manufacturing plants in Yokohama and Oppama just south of Tokyo, and Suzuki is further south at Hamamatsu.

Toyota’s main operations are close to Nagoya, Mazda is at Hiroshima, and Subaru, Mitsubishi and Honda are all near to Tokyo.