Year ends with nearly 200 fewer dealers

The number of dealers in New Zealand dropped by 199 in the past year to 3,220 at the end of December, according to figures released by the Motor Vehicle Traders Register (MVTR).

This represents a 5.8 per cent fall in registered trader numbers from 3,419 in December 2018.

It also continues the steady decline in dealer numbers since peaking at 3,536 in November 2017.

The figures for the end of December 2019 show they were 14 fewer dealers than for the previous month and this also represented a decrease of 40 such operators in the last three months of the year.

The MVTR holds essential information about registered traders and their business. It is operated by Trading Standards, a business unit of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.