dealers getting pushed out of city centres · booming property values. used vehicle industry...
TRANSCRIPT
MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF AUTOTALK.CO.NZ – VOLUME 9 | ISSUE 6 | JULY 2018
T H E V E H I C L E D E A L E R ’ S N E W S S O U R C E
INSIDE
3 7
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Rising property prices in New Zea-land’s largest cities are making it difficult to run dealerships in
areas where they traditionally thrive.Pressure on dealers in Grey Lynn,
Newmarket and Greenlane in Auck-land, along with central Wellington and Christchurch, will continue to build as intensification in the cities increases.
Armstrong Motor Group managing director Rick Arm-strong is one who knows the situation well, with centrally-based dealerships in all three cities.
“In Auckland over the next 10 years, it will be prohibitive to have dealerships in these central areas, he says.
“To have a big enough footprint to run a dealership in Grey Lynn and Greenlane, it’s becoming prohibitive. It’s one reason we set up in Botany. You can get a decent chunk of land.”
The new Mercedes Benz Botany and
East Auckland Hyundai sites have been such a success story for Armstrong, that he has plans to increase its presence in the area at a later date.
The trend of central city land becoming more expensive is one that Armstrong is noticing throughout the
country.“The other big one is Welling-
ton. It’s impossible. If we had to start again and buy it to develop, it wouldn’t work.
“In Wellington’s central city, the land is possibly as expensive as Auckland.
“Similarly, in Christchurch we’re lucky that once again
we’re set up and established.“Is it the best use of this land to have
a car dealership on it? Probably not.”So, what’s the solution?Armstrong predicts central dealer-
ships with showrooms are going to be smaller, particularly when it comes to used cars.
Dealers getting pushed out of city centres
Rick Armstrong
Timelines “tight” for Takata recall 3EVworld charges on 7New VINZ branch opens 10Heat treatment a big investment 12
One of the former Kiwi car dealers jailed in the United Kingdom last month on
charges related to taking money for high-end cars and then not deliver-ing them, left New Zealand under a cloud of allegations in this market.
Nicholas O’Neil and David Chan-dler were impris-oned for five years and six months each, over the taking of NZ$650,000 from customers for the delivery of high-end cars.
Through Chan-dler’s company KIS CARS and O’Neil’s company Drive Direct, the pair had taken orders for high-end supercars, including Ferraris, Bentleys and Porsches, from dealers and buyers.
The cars were to be imported or built to order – but buyers eventu-ally became suspicious of the time
Fraudster jailed in UK left NZ victims
Nicholas O’Neil
David Chandler
2 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
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The used import industry is still working with its new vehicle counterparts to sort
out the alpha Takata airbag com-pulsory recall issue.
But the timeframes set by con-sumer affairs minister Kris Faafoi are making it tough, Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Associa-tion chief executive David Vinsen says.
“We understand the minister wanted a hard-line date.
“We think the minister’s timelines are too tight, but we’re working hard to try and achieve them.
“There’s still some impracticalities around information, technician time available to do the repairs
and the airbags available.”The recall banned any traders from selling
vehicles with alpha Takata airbags from May 31, with the aim of having all the vehicles fixed by next year.
According to Motor Industry Association figures, at the end of May there were still more than 53,000 vehicles that needed fix-ing, the majority of them used imports.
However, Vinsen is confident of get-ting a scheme off the ground which would see traders able to sell the vehicles among themselves without putting them back into the fleet.
“We know there are some wholesale deal-ers prepared to take vehicles as trades, by buying them wholesale.
“At the moment they can’t do anything with them until the vehicles are fixed.”
It is working on establishing a sys-tem to deal with that, which would be done with the government’s as-sistance.
Vinsen is also positive that the importation of vehicles with alpha airbags still under recall has stopped.
“We are pretty confident there will be no new vehicles with alpha airbags coming into the country.
“We think that everyone affected by this has been put under a lot of pres-
sure. It’s a major issue that we’re gradually working our way through in good spirit.”
MIA chief executive David Crawford says distributors have
worked tirelessly to identify the number of vehicles fitted with the more at-risk Takata
alpha type airbag.“For used imported vehicles, it has been
a significant logistical exercise - with many challenges to overcome - identifying at an individual vehicle level which are caught in the mandatory and voluntary recalls,” he says.
“For used imported vehicles, before a replacement part can be ordered a distribu-tor needs to know if the vehicle is in New Zealand and then verify the status of each individual vehicle with their manufacturer’s head office database.”
Much of this work has been completed and parts are on order, Crawford says.
Alpha airbag recall deadlines “too tight”
David Vinsen
David Crawford
Kris Faafoi
4 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
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ted to our brands, and to Auckland.
“Sustainable commercial impact and environmental efficiency were a key focus
in the design of 119GNR, and a big part of that was creating a property which was multi-use, as well as setting the standard for auto-motive retail.”
Andrew Simms dealer principal Matthew Wales says change won’t happen im-mediately, but it is lingering in the fore-seeable future.
“I think we have probably got an interesting few years ahead of us. The value of land in Auckland is increasing under the Unitary Plan.
“There will come a day when, if you don’t own the land, someone will put a 10-12 storey building on it.
“It will be a big issue for new-entrant brands.”
There’s still a desire from dealers and manufacturers to be in those central areas.
“The change is how it will look,” Wales says.
“It might be smaller show-rooms under office buildings or apartments. The service centre in central Auckland will look smaller than it cur-rently does.”
However, he’d be reluc-tant to separate the service centre and showroom com-pletely.
“Customers like coming back to a new car show-room.”
Wales suggests Kiwi deal-ers will probably look for inspiration across the Tas-man, with Ateco executive chairman Neville Crichton suggesting big dealerships
will soon be a thing of the past.
“We will probably copy what Australia does. New Zealand will probably start to follow.”
And it’s not just franchised dealers that are affected by booming property values.
Used vehicle industry mainstay Rod Milner says independent dealers are be-ing forced out of traditional locations like Greenlane.
“If they own their land, they are laughing all the way
to the bank,” Milner says.
“If they rent, I believe the land will eventually be sold by the owners. The land is too valuable to sit on as a car yard.”
Instead of cover-ing up golf courses with houses, Milner says develop-ers would be better served going after car yards like his.
“We are looking actively at selling our Greenlane property.”
The disability vehicle spe-cialist says he would like to take his business undercover, with Auckland’s weather get-ting worse and worse.
“We need somewhere like Highbrook or East Tamaki, where people are not stuck in traffic and it’s easy to get of the motorway.
“We will go where we can afford to buy something big. Our vehicles are big. At the end of the day, the disabil-ity community needs to be undercover.”
Milner suggests used dealerships won’t suffer too much if they shrink in size.
Fewer people are test-driving cars, with online research and the likes of AA checks providing much of the information needed, he says.
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“Used car yards are probably going to become smaller. That can be done at cheaper properties.
“The old days of having big used car yards for people to drive by are gone. Eve-rything is done online now. You can park used cars in a big warehouse and still get the same enquiries.”
“Having 10 of everything in the yard is a com-plete waste of time.
It will also require a slight rethink when it comes to servicing, he says.
“What we’re trying to achieve in Wel-lington and Auckland is have customers come to the showroom and have cars worked on.
“Internal problems that
don’t involve customers coming into the dealership can be worked on at an off-site facility.”
Having a mix of showroom and offices, like Giltrap Group’s 119GNR com-plex on Great North Rd, which houses premium brands like Lam-borghini, Bentley and Aston Martin, is a good example of innova-
tive thinking, Armstrong says.
Giltrap Group spokesman Shaun Summerfield told AutoTalk 119GNR is an example of how showrooms can
continue in central locations.“Premium brands will still
require premium locations, and we remain commit-
Dealers getting pushed out of city centres
Shaun Summerfield
Matthew Wales
Rod Milner
Continued from page 1
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taken for the vehicles to arrive.One such buyer went to the police.
It was found the pair fabricated docu-ments to lead customers to believe the vehicles had been ordered.
The St Albans Crown Court in the UK heard Chandler used the money to
prop up his own business, while O’Neil used the money on day-to-day living.
Chandler was found guilty of one count of transferring criminal prop-erty and two counts of fraud by false representation. O’Neil was charged with the same, with four additional counts of fraud by false representation and one
count of theft. He was found guilty.They have been banned from run-
ning a company for between five and seven years respectively and a com-pensation order is being considered.
Investigator Alan Mordey of the Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Serious Fraud and Cyber Unit, said: “This was
a complicated and protracted investigation but all the hard work was worth it to see the sentences handed down by his honour judge Jonathan Carroll.
“Chandler and O’Neil were bold in their crimes, taking large sums of money from innocent people in exchange for an exclusive service they had absolutely no intention of providing,” Mordey says.
O’Neil claims on Linkedin to have been the dealer principal of a well-known premium franchise dealership between 2004-2008.
AutoTalk has received multi-ple enquiries from local industry members alleging O’Neil left for the UK under a cloud of dodgy business dealings at this end of the world.
O’Neil traded under the same name in New Zealand - Drive Direct - with the local company liquidated in 2011 owing over $200,000 to creditors. It oper-ated from The Strand in Parnell, Auckland.
A vehicle importer who did not want to be named, had previously sought to recover losses to O’Neil in New Zealand through the court system. They then provided evidence to the UK police to assist them with their case against him.
A former staffer for a Japanese vehicle exporter that wants to remain anonymous also alleged to AutoTalk that O’Neil sold cars he had not paid for without docu-ments.
“Nic had a line of credit for about $1 million NZD but no docs for cars until they were paid for - but near the end when all his fraud was catching up with him and his links to the criminal ele-ment were catching up with him it didn’t stop him selling cars with-out docs and double dipping.”
Fraudster jailed in UK left NZ victimsContinued from page 1
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 7
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Industry forums are a new addition to the EVworld NZ conference and expo
in Auckland.The Conferenz organised
event is expected to attract thousands of people to the ASB Showgrounds in Auck-land from August 9-11.
The first two days are trade days, followed by a free public day on August 11.
Four industry forums are running on August 9, cover-ing network and infrastruc-ture, the motor industry, local government, and EV fleet development.
The industry conference on August 10 features talks such as lessons from the global evolution, the role of EVs in a zero-carbon future, what can be learnt from countries like Norway,
wireless and V2G develop-ments, the public transport evolution and Trans-Tasman EV collaboration (“Is Australia holding us back?”).
Kellen Schefter from the Edison Energy Institute in Washington will provide the international keynote address at the conference, giving insight into the global EV ecosystem and the role New Zealand can play in the EVolution.
Anyone who registers for EVworld NZ goes in the draw to win a month’s use of a Hyundai Kona Electric – which Hyundai Motors NZ plans to officially launch at the show, with a Maverick e-bike as second prize.
Champions in the EV industry will be recognised at an awards night on August 9.
A wide variety of displays include “Evie” - Mercury’s 1957 Ford Fairlane converted to electric, an electric boat, an expected 100 trade stands, EV rides and drives and e-bike rides, plus much more.
We asked guest speakers their thoughts before the August 9 forums.
AA business vehicle solu-tions senior accounts man-ager Mark Lloyd chairs the Fleet Development Forum.
He’s had a wide involve-ment in both the energy and automotive sectors and says the forum’s focus is to explore the challenges of building a business case for EV fleets.
It will look to provide an understanding to how and why some fleets have already moved into incorporating
EVs and hybrids and studies some of the impediments.
The forum includes a presentation by Meridian Energy’s procurement and property manager Nick Ro-billiard, who contributed to Drive Electric’s recent white paper on Building an Electric Fleet.
The potential of EV leasing and car sharing will also be covered, Christchurch City Council’s first fully elec-tric car sharing service an example.
The afternoon’s forum includes the chance for audience engagement and participation with panel and table discussions.
Included in the panel is Geoff Bold, an early EV adopter.
EVworld NZ set to buzz
Continued on page 8
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Pimping an off-roader
He’s been driving a Gen 1 Nissan Leaf since December 2015.
Bold’s Leaf doubled the number of EVs driven by employees at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, where he’s a senior clinical research scientist.
Seven months later, two more Leafs arrived, and Bold got a business case for four slow charging stations approved, installed in December 2016 and helping
remove a perceived barrier for employ-ees contemplating driving an EV.
Company employees now have 28 privately owned EVs. Bold and a small team also ran four EV drive and display days.
Plans are progressing, with co-funding from the Government’s low emission vehicles contestable fund to install 50 more charging stations at F&P Healthcare and local district health
boards over the next year to encourage more people to drive electric.
Another on the panel is FleetPartners New Zealand managing director Dennis Kelly.
He’s discussing the ‘real world to-day’ whole-of-life cost for a plug in or hybrid compared to an environmental-ly friendly petrol vehicle and reviewing the actual incremental costs incurred in choosing an EV.
“Understandably, the residual value (RV) position taken by most leasing companies is extremely risk averse, so
although EVs are considerably cheaper to run and maintain, the leasing costs can be a barrier to mainstream commercial applica-tions,” Kelly says.
“The fact is RVs are a point of contention whether you are talk-ing about an EV or fuel type vehi-cle. The difference is that the data modelling for fuelled vehicles has been around a lot longer and can be statistically validated.
“We have yet to understand the affect that leading edge technology has in this area, the inevitable draw and demand on supporting infrastructure, the actual maintenance costs associ-ated to these types of vehicles long-term and the impact intro-ducing road user charges may have on EVs in the future.”
MITO chief executive Janet Lane features in the Motor Indus-try EV Forum panel on “Meeting the needs of the future EV retail industry”.
Lane will cover the work MITO is doing on developing the hu-man infrastructure required for EV uptake.
MITO has received funding from the Government’s low emis-sion vehicles contestable fund to develop a qualification framework for the safe inspection, servicing and repair of EVs.
That will lead to an industry-approved EV qualification and training programmes enabling auto businesses to upskill staff.
“This will result in the public right across New Zealand having choice when purchasing inspec-tion, servicing and repair services for their EV which, in turn, will in-crease consumer confidence.”
EVworld NZ set to buzzContinued from page 7
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10 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
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Palmerston North is the latest city to get a new Vehicle Inspection
New Zealand (VINZ) branch.Previously, its Palmerston
North facility focused on light vehicles, but at the new site trucks take centre stage.
Its new station is purpose-built for heavy vehicles, with
New VINZ site opens in Palmerston North
Gordon Shaw
two lanes for trucks, one for compliance and one for light vehicles, VINZ chief execu-tive Gordon Shaw says.
“Palmerston North is a key area and a big trucking hub. There’s lots of service available.
“We’re focused on fast and efficient turnaround of vehicles. Cars don’t want to drive down the same lanes as trucks.”
The latest technology, like state-of-the-art cabling and imaging equipment are getting the vehicles through faster, he says.
“We’re saving 10 to 15 minutes per vehicle because of the technology.
“Having the land area for parking and queuing also gives us a competitive advantage.”
VINZ is employing a strat-egy of setting up near other complimentary businesses, like a tyre shop and possibly a truck wash in Palmerston North.
“More and more our customers are asking us to hub our services and be in the same place as other like-minded businesses – to provide services where they are.”
“You have to be a bit more inventive about how you take the services to the customer. It means we can enhance our service delivery.”
“Some customers do work in other locations and will come to try us out.”
It is the second new VINZ branch to open this year, fol-lowing on from Hamilton.
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 11
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The Australian Automotive Dealer Association’s National Dealer Convention and Expo 2018 will
be back on the Gold Coast from Sep-tember 4-5, giving dealers the insight, inspiration and inclination to tackle the future with confidence.
The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre will be the backdrop venue with an extensive ar-ray of workshops, discussion panels and plenary sessions designed to educate and engage dealer principals, their management teams and key staff.
The AADA describes the automotive industry as a middleman business, shaking hands with the makers and the users, with plenty of potential for disruption to the traditional business model which is al-ready taking on water, in some respects.
“Retail platforms such as Carvana and Drivetime are challenging traditional auto-motive retailers, attempting to take dealers out of the picture completely,” the AADA says.
“Giant retailers like Walmart are dipping their toes into our industry.
“The new and used car franchise dealership model is under attack, both direct and tangential, from many sides. Some will change the way dealers do business, others will aim to take that business.”
With this in mind, the AADA’s (Sept 3) pre-convention day International panel, hosted by Charlie Vogelheim, will put a panel of international experts in front of attendees to decode the messages being received across the industry to give you “a global perspective on the future of the franchised auto dealer”.
They’ll look at ways to change fixed operation areas with the impending rise of electric vehicles, while looking at a new income model likely
to spawn within dealerships’ revenue mix of sales, finance/insurance, af-termarket and fixed operations shifts. Party to this is the influence of safety in customer vehicle choice.
You’ll also hear about “overdealerisa-tion” and whether Australia and the world has too many dealers.
The panel will include NADA
chairman Wes Lutz, China Automobile Dealers Association executive chairman Shen Jinjun, US industry analyst Glenn Mercer, AADA chief executive David Blackhall, Deloitte’s Dale McCauley, ANCAP chief executive James Good-win, and ROAR director Charles Mills.
For more details visit http://aada-convention.com.au/
AADA convention getting closer
12 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
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A significant invest-ment in heat treat-ment technology by
those tasked with inspecting used imports from Japan is being applauded by the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry As-sociation (VIA).
Jevic and Auto-motive Technologies Limited (ATL) have been approved to offer heat treatment by the Ministry for Primary Industries following the stink bug issue earlier this year.
And Autoterminal Ja-pan (ATJ) is currently going
through the approval pro-cess.
VIA chief executive David Vinsen says investing in the technology is a brave move
by the companies, given the revised Import Health Stand-ard (IHS) has yet to be released by MPI.
“It’s not an incon-siderable investment. They’ve spent a lot of money in order to
deliver this treatment.“We are pleased and
impressed that these three border inspection organisa-tions have taken this big,
speculative stand.”However, with the heat
treatment technology will come an increase in cost, he says.
“It’s going to have to be passed on and become part of the process.
“An increase in cost is always a concern, but what’s of greater concern is the dis-ruption to the supply chain.
“We have to make sure that never happens again.”
Vinsen says installing the equipment is a “huge exer-cise”, with units required at multiple ports across Japan.
“Now everything has to be treated overseas.”
Heat treatment is the only option, with fogging by sulfuryl fluoride banned in Japan and methyl bromide causing damage to the cars, Vinsen says.
Jevic said in a letter to stakeholders in April it was pleased to get the approval.
“As the first company in Japan to be approved for an operational sys-tem, we recognise the value this brings to our systems, stakeholders and the vehicle pathway as a whole.”
ATL chief executive Nigel Grindall says offering heat treatment will be critical under the new IHS.
“In preparation for the high risk season of Sep-tember through to May, ATL have made a significant investment in installing heat treatment facilities across all of its operations throughout Japan.
“This investment cou-pled with increased staffing levels at all sites will ensure that ATL are able to process increased volume of vehicles should it be required.”
ATJ biosecurity consultant Kevin Nalder says it is work-ing with another company in Japan to provide heat treat-ment.
“We want to make sure we deliver consistently be-fore we get too excited.
“We don’t see it as a race.” An MPI spokesperson told
AutoTalk submissions on the new IHS are currently under consideration.
AutoTalk understands the date of implementation is still set down for September 1.
However, that could be delayed by the Japanese government raising con-cerns about the IHS on “technical grounds”.
MPI is also working on how stink bug-affected ships will be dealt with dur-ing the upcoming season.
It is understood ships with dead stink bugs will
likely be able to discharge vehicles, while those with live stink bugs will have to leave New Zealand waters.
The MPI spokesperson didn’t go into that level of detail, but did confirm there would be increased auditing and inspection of vessels and cargo arriving from countries with established stink bug populations.
“Ultimately, our plan is to manage the risk of BMSB off-shore as much as pos-sible.”
David Vinsen
Nigel Grindall
Heat treatment could cause cost increases
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 13
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Readership of AutoTalk NZ continues to grow rapidly with subscriber numbers now topping the 5000 mark in print and digital formats.
“We now have 17,438 auto industry news ‘Alerts’ opened every month, and stories being viewed 30,271 times,” says Auto Media Group publisher, Vern Whitehead.
“When we started AutoTalk in digital format nine years ago we had no idea of how it would quickly overtake other indus-try publications in both subscriber numbers and readership, in both digital and print.
“Now we are innovating again with the impending launch of a monthly feature focussing on dealer profiles - in video, podcast and print - backed by product videos every week.
“We are proud and grateful of the support we have had from sponsors, industry movers and shakers, and our adver-tisers, without whom this fantastic growth would not have been possible,” adds Whitehead.
As well as AutoTalk, Auto Media Group also publishes TransportTalk for the heavy vehicle industry, and EVtalk for the booming electric vehicle market - in both New Zealand and Australia.
AutoTalk subscriber numbers surge
Kay Hart has taken up the reins at Ford Motor Company as Australia
and New Zealand president and chief execu-tive.
She replaces Graeme Whick-man, who has left the company after 20 years to take up a new opportunity.
Hart, who will be based out of Melbourne, was most recent global BEV manager, distribution and digital experience.
Hart, 40, will report to Peter Fleet, Ford group vice president and president, Ford Asia Pacific.
“Kay is a proven leader, highly motivated by con-sumer insights and dealer relations,” Fleet says.
“She has broad experience across the company and around the globe. With strong knowl-edge and relation-ships in Australia and New Zealand, Kay will be a wonder-ful addition to our leadership team and
a strong advocate for our customers and dealers.”
During her time at the company has also worked as advanced consumer experi-ence marketing manager, helping develop the com-
pany’s app FordPass and managing director for Ford Philippines.
Hart started her career in the marketing team at Ford New Zealand in 1998.
“I am excited to come back to Asia Pacific and work with such a strong and ac-complished Ford Australia and New Zealand team,” Hart says.
“I’m looking forward to working with our dealers and team to continue the great progress that has been made in the consumer experi-ence and helping accelerate growth across the business.”
Among her responsi-bilities, Hart will continue to lead the transformation
of Ford’s business, includ-ing the work to revamp the consumer and dealer experi-ence.
Whickman says Ford Aus-tralia and New Zealand is in a stronger position than it was a few years ago.
“The industry is undergo-ing rapid change, and I have confidence the local leader-ship teams have the right plans in place to be suc-cessful. They will continue to be held up in the global Ford world as great exam-ples of what happens when good focused strategies are supported by committed and skilful employees and dealers.”
Kiwi appointed new Ford Australia and NZ CEO
Kay Hart
SHOWROOMNEW VEHICLE INDUSTRY AND PRODUCT NEWS
14 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
Tesla officially launched its first New Zealand store and service
centre in Auckland on June 28 with an evening event for Tesla owners to celebrate.
The 501 Karangahape Road venue then opened to the public on June 29.
The centre has two Model S vehicles and a Model X displayed, as well as a signature Tesla ‘skateboard’ chassis, Tesla Powerwall, six supercharging bays and five destination charging stations.
Additional supercharging sites opened in Queenstown and Omarama from June 29.
This takes the total super-charging sites in New Zea-
land to six, with Hamilton, Palmerston North and Taupo already operational.
Destination chargers are also available in more than 75 locations which include shopping centres, hotels, restaurants, resorts and secure parking areas.
The new Auckland centre follows Tesla’s model and is part of its global store and service centre expansion.
Tesla’s retail model, which is direct to the customer, allows for future owners to customise the design of their vehicle and gain advice on the benefits of owning an electric vehicle.
Customers will also be able to view the Tesla home
energy product offering, which includes its Powerwall and solar panels.
Tesla’s servicing, built on a zero-profit model, ensures owners receive a full under-standing of the costs and works being undertaken on their vehicle upfront. That can be done even prior to arrival at the service centre due to remote diagnosis over the air, through the vehicle’s in-built connection.
Tesla Australia and New Zealand senior marketing and communications manager Heath Walker declines to reveal the Auckland centre’s value or Tesla sales details.
But he says there’s strong interest in New Zealand.
He says the centre is available to owners 24-hours, access provided by a code, with customers able to use a lounge with snacks, refreshment and television free.
Model 3 cars can be ordered and Walker expects a right-hand drive version to be available in 2019.
He says customers can enjoy “Tesla time” at the new centre where dealer specialists and customers often maintain a long-term relationship.
Watch a full video walk-through of the new facility at our YouTube channel: you-tube.com/c/automedia-group/
Tesla opens first New Zealand store and service centre
SHOWROOMNEW VEHICLE INDUSTRY AND PRODUCT NEWS
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 15
Japanese drums marked the official opening of the Infiniti Auckland
dealership on Greenlane’s Great South Road last month.
As part of a Japanese theme on the night, Tamashii Taiko Drummers entertained guests, who were served Japanese-inspired food by Kiwi chef Nick Watt.
Watt was the brains be-hind the on-site kitchen.
After speeches from In-finiti Auckland sales manager Richard Couch and Global Motors/Infiniti NZ general
manager Henry Belt, Consul General of Japan in Auckland Minoru Kikuchi cut the rib-bon to open the facility.
The premium brand shares space with distribu-tor Global Motor’s other brand, Renault. The dealer-ship features a new upstairs display and event space.
Couch called the facility world class.
“I would like to say how proud I am to be working in this world-class, premium facility. (It is) absolutely per-fect for showcasing and dis-playing our range of vehicles
and, of course, to give you all a top-class experience.”
Belt explained more about the Infiniti brand’s market.
“To be an Infiniti custom-er, you are likely to be what is known in marketing terms, or marketing guru terms, a progressive challenger - so you’re a rare and very special person. You’re generally open-minded, not influ-enced by TV commercials or likely to buy a car because three of your mates bought one, or that your business partner owns one. You’re self-driven, you’re a bit of a
get-up and go type person, and you really like making decisions on your own.”
“There’s only one or two brands of vehicle that actually, anywhere in the world, cut the mustard for a progressive challenger,” Belt explains. “We happen to have one in the Infiniti. What we want to do is earn your support and look after you with an Infiniti experience so you can enjoy the product.”
Experience the opening at our YouTube channel you-tube.com/c/automedia-group/
Infiniti Auckland opens in Greenlane
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SHOWROOMNEW VEHICLE INDUSTRY AND PRODUCT NEWS
16 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
CX-8 plugs gap in Mazda SUV offeringM
azda New Zea-land has added an entirely new model
to its range to fill a gap that would normally be taken up by a different engine option.
The CX-8 shares its width with the CX-5, and its wheelbase with the CX-9 – it provides a seven-seat version of the former essentially, and in the case of the CX-9 offers a much-needed diesel alternative.
Due to tax reasons there is no petrol option for the primarily Japanese domes-tic market CX-8, and its North American focus means no diesel for the CX-9.
Interior space for the first two rows is similar to a CX-5, while third-row passengers actually get marginally more legroom than in a CX-9 and only slightly less luggage space at 775 litres with the third row folded down.
Why all the work when Mazda’s other SUV mod-els are hot sellers? With big names like the Hyundai Santa Fe in the large ‘on-road’ SUV segment, it makes up 6.3% of the market when you take out rentals.
The engine is an upgraded version of Mazda’s 2.2-litre unit with a new variable vane turbo. It produces 140kW and 450Nm, and is paired to a slick six-speed automatic with front or all-wheel drive options. Fuel consumption is a miserly 6-litres per 100km. Braked towing capacity is 2000kg.
Two specifications are available, a GSX priced from $53,495 in front-wheel drive
and a Limited all-wheel drive at $62,495. Mazda is expecting the model mix to favour the Limited slightly, and heavily favour all-wheel drive.
Product planning manag-er Tim Nalden says over the first 12 months 1000 units are expected to be delivered.
“The CX-8 adds another string to our bow – an important string when you consider we lead the SUV market when you take rent-al sales out,” he explains.
“The market’s appetite for SUVs and crossover vehicles has never been higher. We at Mazda are also experienc-ing this trend, and we have recorded a stronger swing to SUVs than the rest of the industry.”
Mazda is strong in the private sector, though man-aging director David Hodge says the CX-8 will appeal to fleets.
“We believe it will appeal to private buyers, but we also envisage fleets will find it an attractive proposition
for those looking for an ef-ficient and versatile vehi-cle that is equally at home around town or on the open road.”
Fleets and families alike will be pleased with the level of safety features. Aside from a full contingent of airbags and electronic stability control, you get an array of driver assistants, including autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitor-ing, rear cross traffic alert, traffic sign recognition, lane keep assist and radar cruise control. The Limited adds adaptive LED headlamps and city brake support in reverse.
Families will find appeal in the five child seat tether points, and two ISOFIX child seat mounts. Keeping the kids entertained with devices is made easier by two USB charging points for the sec-ond row. The sliding mecha-nism for the rear seats was also designed to allow kids to use it.
The GSX rides on 17-inch alloy wheels, gets LED head-
lamps, power fold mirrors, automatic headlights and rain sensing wipers, keyless entry and ignition, heads-up display, satellite naviga-tion and fabric seating. The Limited adds 19-inch alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights, privacy glass, Nappa leather, powered and heated front seats, a heated second-row seat, heated steering wheel, rear door sunshades, wood trim and a ten-speaker Bose Audio system.
We experienced the CX-8 on a brief loop around the Waikato and were im-pressed. It is not as nimble as a CX-5 but feels well planted and stable. The steering is responsive, and the brakes excellent. It gets the same GVC system as other recent Mazda’s, claimed to make cornering smoother and more com-fortable for passengers.
View our first drive of the CX-8 and a discussion with Tim Nalden on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/automediagroup/
SHOWROOMNEW VEHICLE INDUSTRY AND PRODUCT NEWS
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 17
The RAM 1500 pick-up truck range will see its Australian and New
Zealand dealership networks expand rapidly in the coming year.
Australian distributor Ateco Automotive has an-nounced at the RAM Trucks launch in Sydney that it will grow from the current 33 dealers to 36 by the end of the financial year, and 40 by the end of 2018.
The additional RAM Trucks footprint will be inclusive of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Australia’s 17 franchised RAM dealer sites.
Not all FCA dealerships which supply Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Fiat and Alfa Ro-meo vehicles are capable of servicing the new RAM range. However, Ateco says the new sites will make up for that.
“Our RAM Trucks range will be fully supported just like any other rival in the dual-cab ute market,” Ateco public relations manager Edward Rowe explains.
“Dealerships must be ap-pointed a RAM Truck dealer with technical training, and we have fully backed the new range with a complete inven-tory of parts,” he says.
“All RAM Truck parts will be delivered within 24 hours, with the exception of paint and airbags - airbags, of course, which are not Takata parts,” Rowe adds.
The new RAM Trucks range will be honoured with a three-year/100,000km factory warranty, including in New Zealand where the 1500 will also be imported and factory-backed with a full
national dealer network for the first time.
Those 40 Australian RAM dealers will be selling two pri-mary specifications, starting with the base-model 1500 Express from A$79,950 drive-away which boasts 3.5-tonne towing expandable to 4.5
tonnes with an optioned 3.92 axle ratio, a 912kg payload inside a 1.95-metre tray, and a 5.7-litre Hemi V8 with 291kW of power and 556Nm of torque.
The higher-spec 1500 Lar-amie will start at A$99,950 before statutory on-road costs, prior to heading into 2500 model range territory starting at A$139,950 before on-road costs. The range ceiling is at A$147,950 for the 3500.
The vigorous market at-tack for the RAM range is to put top-spec dual-cab utes like Ford Ranger Wildtrak, Volkswagen Amarok V6 and Mercedes-Benz X-Class Power in direct line of sight, with the slogan “Eats utes for breakfast”.
Lenn Kench, Ateco national project manager, says it’s time to spice up the market segment, especially from other locally-converted pick-up trucks.
“We welcome the com-petition from the Ford F-150 and Holden doing the Chevy Silverado, although I haven’t been in either,” he says.
Kench says all RAM dealer servicing staff have also taken part in two-day technical training with the new 1500
range to prepare for the an-ticipated increase in volume sales.
“All our dealer technicians have been properly brought up to speed on the new ve-hicles as far north as our Port Douglas dealer; with parts in stock.”
With ambitious targets, Ateco says it expects to sell 2100 units in Australia’s first year of sale, another 3700 units by mid-2020 and a confident 4500 vehicles by 2021.
New Zealanders are expected to buy 250 in the coming year and another 450 by mid-2020 utilising an also expanding 13 FCA’s RAM Trucks dealer network, with the same two-tier model range.
A diesel version will be available around October and the special edition Black Pack with various dark highlights and louder exhaust system will be available from No-
vember, according to Ateco. The 1500 Express comes with a “crew cab” that is slightly more confined than the Lara-mie’s “crew cab”.
Larger gross combined mass versions in the 2500 and 3500 will edge closer to the limits of a standard car li-cence before going to a light truck licence above 10.8 tonnes depending on various state/territory regulations and vehicle configuration. Both 2500 and 3500 put out 276kW and 1084Nm for a 6.9-tonne and 6.1-tonne towing capacity respectively, depending on specification.
All variants come with low-range four-wheel drive as standard, while measuring in at just over 5.8 metres and exactly 2.018 metres wide, which will make some subur-ban parking difficult.
The 1500 Express gets a 121-litre fuel tank compared with 98 litres in the Laramie, which could cost around $180 for a full tank of regular 91 octane petrol - suitable to run on. The Hemi V8 is also Euro 5 compliant with 12-month servicing intervals.
Kench also says the 1500 range is not ANCAP crash tested, but has been crash tested internally within the company to meet and com-ply with Australian Design Rules standard 69 which requires passing a 48km/h full-width frontal crash.
All RAM Trucks are built to full ADR compliance in Holden Special Vehicles’ Melbourne factory, receiving full left to right-hand drive conversion from American Special Vehicles.
New RAM trucks range to grow dealer network
SHOWROOMNEW VEHICLE INDUSTRY AND PRODUCT NEWS
18 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
Ssangyong put its new Musso ute on sale at Fieldays 2018, though
so far right-hand drive mod-els have yet to land here.
Distributor Great Lake Mo-tors showed a left-hand drive version at the event, with deliveries of the local version being made during spring.
Larger than the outgoing Actyon, the Musso can hold 3.5 tonnes, drives on 20-inch hollow wheels, and offers an impressively deep and wide tray.
Only the top-level SPR model has been detailed so far – with the feature list including a touch screen system, with smart phone mirroring, leather upholstery,
heated, ventilated, power adjustable front seats, and a proximity key system.
Safety features include nine airbags, with total emer-gency braking, lane depar-ture warning, high beam
assistance, and a 360 degree camera.
The engine is a 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel, produc-ing 133kW and 420Nm of torque, paired with a six-speed automatic and four-
wheel drive.The SPR is priced at
$42,990 plus GST and on road costs.
Less expensive models are expected to be announced at a later date.
Musso ute introduced at Fieldays
Christchurch is the latest New Zealand city to get an AMG
Performance Centre.The facility now open
at Armstrong Prestige Christchurch is the South Island’s first AMG Perfor-mance Centre.
The newly constructed showroom hosts the second AMG Performance Centre in New Zealand after the recently-opened facility at Mercedes-Benz Auckland.
“Our South Island cus-tomers have always had an incredible passion for Mercedes-AMG vehicles,” Ben Giffin, general manager of Mercedes-Benz Cars New Zealand says.
“We are very excited to bring the Mercedes-AMG
brand experience to the South Island. It will give customers and performance enthusiasts alike more direct access to everything the Mercedes-AMG
brand stands for.”Customers are met by
staff trained in product and technical knowledge by Mer-cedes-AMG experts at the
Mercedes-AMG headquarters in Affalterbach, Germany.
The AMG Performance Centre will open for business from Friday June 29.
Daimler unveils latest AMG Performance Centre
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 19
NEWSTALK
Some collision repairers now have waiting lists
for dealers and other customers wanting work done.
The reasons link to a shortage of quali-fied technicians and an international drive toward bigger and faster repair workshops. As a result, the collision repair sec-tor is under enormous pressure.
The Motor Trade Association (MTA) is putting a lot of energy and emphasis on build-ing members’ understanding of what changes are under way, how businesses will be affected, and what measures, if any, can be taken to adjust to the challenges.
For the collision repair sec-tor, the biggest changes are intertwined; consolidation, and the shift toward large SMART (small to medium accident repair technology) workshops. Consolidation is happen-ing worldwide with smaller repairers being bought out by national and international companies, some under in-surance company ownership.
These big repair con-
solidators focus on minor and moderate accident repairs and use technology, special-ist technicians, and efficient workshop layouts to make rapid repairs.
With insurance compa-nies dictating repair price structures, repairers must put through high volumes of work to make a decent profit. Insurance companies are directing more and more of their work to the SMART repair centres.
Workshops constrained by capital, staff and floor space are unable to adopt this repair model and, over time, are likely to lose out
on this work.New Zealand is in the
early stages of this transi-tion with several SMART repair centres already operational and others being converted.
These large repair centres compete for qualified staff, who are already in short sup-ply. Wages are rising and, in the large metro areas, the shortage of skilled painters and panelbeat-ers means some businesses have to delay or turn away some jobs.
Mechanical workshops face their own problems. Some are struggling to keep
up with the technology, tools, and investment need-ed to service and repair the huge variety of late model cars now on the roads. Some of these busi-nesses may be targets for a takeover by bigger repairers.
Others are grouping together in franchises or networks to gain the benefits of being part of a larger association. Me-chanical repairers are also chronically short of quali-fied technicians.
MTA has responded to the new environment
not only with information and support. The organisa-tion has also just launched a group apprenticeship scheme to bring new staff into the workforce – both collision repairers and auto technicians.
We are also encouraging members to start thinking now about how their business can take advantage of the big changes within the sector.
Specialisation may be likely to the way forward for some businesses, others will find ways to grow and develop. Smaller, inefficient workshops will not survive.
Crunch time in collision repair sector
Craig Pomare
20 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
By David Crawford, CEO of theMotor Industry Association of NZ (Inc).
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INDUSTRYTALK
July already, 2018 has flown by. As I sit down to write this column
wondering what to write about this month I think back on the year-to-date and realise it has been one heck of a year so far. Good and not so good.
The market for new ve-hicles is flat. The good news is that flat is still at histori-cally high levels of sales. For the last three years I often note when releasing new car registration data that the underlying economic indica-tors remain strong. These being strong net immigra-tion, strong NZ dollar, stable economy, competitive pricing and a wide range of makes and models to choose from. Key among this has been a stable government with a high degree of certainty in policy direction.
At one of our industry meetings two years ago, a visiting economist exhorted the industry to make hay while the sun shines. And shine it did.
We have enjoyed several years of good growth with record annual levels of new vehicle registrations. The market has matured with clear trends in buyer prefer-ences, which has seen the rise and rise of SUVs followed by the equally impressive rise and rise of light commer-
cial vehicles, principally one tonne utes.
But the sun is not shining quite so brightly anymore, the warmth is disappearing and the early chills of a win-ter of discontent are starting to be felt by the NZ business sector.
Under this current Govern-ment, costs are creeping up for business and consumers. Business is keeping a wary eye on the Government as the myriad of working groups,
reviews and proposed legisla-tive amendments continue to bombard us with yet more changes. Certainty of policy direction has dissipated, replaced with an environment of pervasive political uncer-tainty.
We do not like political uncertainty, it eats away at business confidence.
And here I was thinking I was going to write a con-structive think piece for this month! To be fair it is not all doom and gloom, far from it. But it is getting harder to
move vehicles off the lot and the market at year end will, I predict, be slightly below 2017.
Contributing to the cooler outlook is the increase in fuel prices, driven by taxes and higher fuel import costs. If these increases remain consistent as opposed to a temporary blip, then the cost of vehicle ownership will increase.
In previous periods of sustained fuel increases we
have witnessed two discern-ible outcomes.
The first is a reduction in the severity of road crashes and total fatalities. This seems counter-intuitive, but with higher fuel prices comes a slight lowering of speed as people try and make their tank of fuel last longer and longer. When I worked in the Ministry of Transport a dec-ade ago, we coined a phrase for this – fuel efficient drivers are safe drivers. And right now, we need a lot more safer driving.
The second outcome is a discernible shift in the type of vehicles purchased, which is what everyone would expect. In the past, this shift has been from larger to smaller vehicles. However, what is different this time are the wider choices of vehicles that are more fuel efficient.
There are now an increas-ing range of electric vehicles (BEVs and PHEVs) in addition to small vehicles. It will be interesting to see if the shift goes from larger to smaller or whether it will be a mix of large to small combined with a shift to BEVS and PHEVs.
Data to June shows a small shift starting to de-velop with the SUV medium and SUV compact segments being first and third in our industry segmentation. SUV large, and the 4x4/4x2 seg-ments are in the mix, but then comes light and small segments. The shift is not strong, but it could well pick up momentum if fuel prices remain high.
And there it is, an uninten-tional segway into fuel econ-omy and CO2 reductions, and a whole column without discussing the Takata airbag recall. I know that Govern-ment intends to release its views sometime in the next eight to ten weeks on CO2 reductions. We wonder what joys await us with that!
The good, the bad and...
“In previous periods of sustained fuel increases we have witnessed two discernible outcomes. The first is a reduction in the severity of road crashes and total fatalities. The second outcome is a discernible shift in the type of vehicles purchased.”
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 21
In an increasingly competi-tive market more vehicle traders are leveraging data
to get ahead of the pack. At the risk of using a cliche, it’s about working smarter rather than harder. But what does that even mean? Reliable data is the key; – information to help you understand as much as you can about your cus-tomers and almost more im-portantly, information to help you – understand as much as you can about buyers who aren’t your customers (yet).
Start with potential buyers.Start with what buyers are
searching online. What are the most popular recently searched body types, makes and models? This is a great way to assess whether you’re stocking the right vehicles - the stuff buyers want. It’s also a good reference point when considering trade-ins, giving you a good indica-tion of whether the vehicle in question will be quick to turnover or something that’s potentially going to sit on your yard for some time.
The ability to see what keywords people are using when searching online is gold when applied to vehicle descriptions.Tweaking the description to incorporate
these keywords could mean the difference between hav-ing your vehicle seen by a potential buyer and increas-ing your chances of a sale, or simply not appearing in search results.
Be mindful to only use keywords that are relevant to the vehicle you’re selling, keyword spamming means your vehicles could end up in front of the wrong audi-ence annoying buyers and potentially affecting your credibility as a seller.
When you take the above information and compare what percentage of views your vehicle has received in specific price bands com-pared to other dealers, you now know what vehicles buyers are looking for, the keywords they’re using when searching and how your pricing compares to com-petitors - pretty powerful stuff.
What about competitors? Knowing what you’re up
against is a massive business advantage. Being able to see
all the options that potential buyers are considering, al-lows you to adjust your offer and improve your chances of making the sale. By compar-ing trends in your sales with market trends you’re able to tell if you’re hitting or miss-ing the mark. It’s often tiny adjustments that bring great results.
Get to know more about people who could become customers.
You need to put your marketing hats on for this one: it’s all about getting to know what groups of specific people are interested in so that you can market your vehicles in a way that appeals to them. For instance, what if we told you what type of non-ute vehicle tradies pre-fer? You’d be able to market these vehicles in a way that appeals to tradies by wording your descriptions specifically, inserting the right keywords and perhaps even sweeten the deal with something that they deem valuable like racks for tools. You’ve po-
INDUSTRYTALK
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Lance WitheridgeHead of MotorWeb & Data [email protected]
Data driven sales
tentially opened up a whole new customer base that you may never have marketed to, all with the aim of selling more vehicles. Life stages, interests and habits can all be moulded into relevant offers that appeal to very specific segments of the market.
Data to keep you safeThere are a number of
ways data is used to pro-tect you and your business. Vehicle Information reports provide a full history and give you details on the vehicle that can’t be gathered at first glance. This informa-tion safeguards you against potential financial losses and should not be ignored.
Recently the industry has been buzzing with news of recalls. Being able to deter-mine if a vehicle is affected in the early stages of a deal will allow you to structure something that saves you from being out of pocket later on.
There is a wealth of infor-mation available so get the competitive edge and start using data to help drive your sales.
22 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
MARKETINGTALK
Overall, May 2018 was a strong month for activity at NZ dealerships with increases across the board for all the KPI’s we measure.
From April to May the number of leads increased by 21.1%, Test drives were up 9.7% and sales recorded in-creased by 10.4%. This represents a significant swing from April where both leads and test drives dropped by over 5% each.
The usual sources were again generating the most leads with Web – Dealer, Brand and Web Classified occupying the top three spots. However, while leads from dealerships web-sites dropped for the first time in a few months (Web – Dealer down by 13.1%), leads from the Brand (up 48.5%) and Web – Classified (up 73.6%) both increased significantly.
In May Web – Dealer was again the top source of test drives amongst AutoPlay customers, however it decreased by 5.3% from April to May 2018.
Direct still accounts for the second most leads (up 4.2%) and Brand leads generate the 3rd most test drives (up 14.4% from April).
In April the Web – Dealer source was again the most com-mon source of sales, however, after a sizeable increase from March to April, the volume decreased by 9.1% from April to May.
The Repeat source continues to proportionately account for a larger number of sales than many other sources and increased by 6.9%. May also saw Sales from Direct contact increase by 18.1% - displacing Web – Classified from the podium.
With Fieldays in early June we are sure to have seen a surge in leads, test drives and sales from the Brand reflected in next month’s results. Make sure to read the next issue of AutoTalk to see what sources of leads were popular in June amongst Kiwi dealerships.
Matt Darby works for AutoPlay which specialises in pre-sale lead management tools. To find out more about AutoPlay services email [email protected] or visit www.autoplay.co.nz
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Top 3 sources of leads, test drives and sales May 2018 (vs April 2018)
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 23
MARKETINGTALK
1Top 3 Sources for Leads, Test Drives and Sales - New Zealand Dealerships May 2018 ( vs April 2018)
Direct 18.1%
Repeat 6.9%Web - Dealer 9.1%
SALE
S
Brand 14.4%
Direct 4.2%Web - Dealer 5.3%
TEST
DRIV
ES
Web - Classified 73.6%
Brand 48.5%Web - Dealer 13.1%
LEA
DS
Peter [email protected] or 021-940 318
A month ago I had the misfortune to ac-cidently slip on a wet
golf course that resulted in a quadriceps knee tendon rupture and an operation to repair the damage.
With the leg in a brace, driving has not been possible; subse-quently ACC has stepped into the breach to pay for either taxi or Uber move-ments to and from meeting places or post-op visits to hospital and rehabilitation centres.
The multiple journeys in either established Auck-land taxis or independent Uber vehicles have thrown a spotlight on the relative strengths and weaknesses of both modes of private paid transport.
While the established taxi company vehicles were primarily late model Toyota Camry Hybrids, the Uber ve-hicles of choice were earlier model Japanese used import Toyota Prius.
The more comfortable ride option was undoubt-edly the larger, more modern Camry, hence a win to the established taxi company on this comparative.
However, this is the only win in favour of the estab-lished taxi company. When it comes to customer experi-ence, customer/driver inter-action and total transparency relating to both travel cost estimate and time for pickup, Uber wins hands down. At
the time Uber was born, conditioned taxi customers had fundamentally only one view of how that industry should be catered for.
Uber as the disrup-
tive force changed all the constants in our thinking turning a regulated industry into a ride sharing experi-ence whereby you no longer require a fleet of taxis to run that industry.
The Uber disruptive influ-ence on the taxi industry is just one example of the disruptive forces in play for many other industries.
The long-established new and used retail vehicle industry now faces major disruption.
Some may say major changes are still a long way off. Others with knowledge of the disruptive pace of change to other traditional sales and marketing indus-tries say you best prepare as quickly as you can. If you were a betting person
where would you place your money?
Personally my bet is on the latter view. As an indus-try business owner if you are not thinking seriously and
strategically about how best to handle this wave then you are likely to be left behind by the speed of disruption.
If one-steps back and takes a helicopter view of
our motor vehicle industry and questions which area of business continues to evolve at pace, it settles fairly and squarely on customer’s adaption of technology.
Customers increasingly have the whip hand. Dealers no longer own this space, customers share it.
So what does disruptive change have in store for the motor industry? If one accepts the premise the industry will increasingly be-come customer centric then it stands to reason systems, processes and importantly staff behaviour all have to cater for a sustainable quality customer experience.
An experience incorporat-ing transparency, conveni-ence, speed of transaction and at the same time estab-lishing a mutually beneficial technology interaction.
If you accept this custom-er premise of the way for-ward for your business then the obvious starting point is to objectively access how you stack up in the key areas of transparency, conveni-
ence, speed and technology.The April introduction by
Toyota New Zealand of their “Drive Happy” programme was a bold move by a long established market leader.
Replacing recommended retail pricing with a non-negotiable (or no haggle) drive away price and the term “stores” replacing the term “dealers” plus all new vehicle stock being owned and held in three centres by the distributor, follows very much the distribution and marketing model established by Honda New Zealand some 18 years prior.
While there will be industry arm chair critics who may be quick to offer up reasons why no-haggle pricing will not work, one only has to look at the long-established new and used vehicle stores in the US who set in place this way of doing business many years ago. They remain successful operations today.
If I was a betting guy my money would be on the Toyota “Drive Happy” model. For me it ticks all the key customer experience boxes of transparency, conveni-ence, speed and technology.
To learn more about a customer centric technology system that also offers ease of use plus increased pro-ductivity visit www.autoplay.co.nz
Disruption: what it means for the motor industry
Customers increasingly have the whip hand. Dealers no longer own this space, customers share it.
Vinsen’s ViewThe monthly update from VIA chief executive, David Vinsen
JUNE 2018
ADVANTAGE
WHAT DO WE DO?
Advice and advocacy for the used vehicle industryIf you have technical questions, compliance problems, consumer complaints, staff issues — we can help.
For more information: www.via.org.nz | Free phone: 0800 842 842 | Phone 09 573 3058
Continued on page 25
The brown marmorated stink bug (or BMSB) season is over. Let’s
hope the stink bugs know.Along with the Takata
airbag recall, the BMSB bios-ecurity threat commanded the attention of our whole industry in the first half of 2018 – the most sudden and serious crisis we had ever faced. All shipments of vehicles ceased for up to seven weeks. Meanwhile, as we were receiving no stock, new and used vehicles con-tinued to pile into ports in Japan at a rate of up to 6000 per week. We knew that once the shortage was over, the glut would arrive – the famine, and then the feast, each with its own extreme demands.
Suddenly stricken in the famine phase, we had no stock coming through our supply chain – all points were affected, from shippers stuck with cargo that could not be offloaded, car trans-porters and countless other service providers without work, and dealers and cus-tomers around the country waiting weeks for new stock. This strained cashflow and balance sheets, even placing some businesses at risk of
failure, with tens of millions of dollars in losses.
Once effective treat-ment was in place and ships started moving again, the ensuing feast posed its own challenges: huge pressure on logistics, storage, labour and prices in the market.
With the initial crisis re-sponse now past, a debrief-ing session on the issue was held at the Ports of Auckland headquarters on Thursday, 19 June.
Turning the pain into a gain With the supply chain
returned to some semblance of normality, the objectives were to look at the response overall, see which aspects worked effectively, and decide on how we could do things differently to improve outcomes in the event of another biosecurity threat.
The next ‘season’ for BMSB is due to commence again in September, and our readiness to respond on the front foot is essential.
The group that attended the debriefing was largely the same participants who were involved in teleconferences throughout the crisis – bor-der control and science staff from MPI, border inspection
organisations, and obviously the shipping companies.
It was they who bore the brunt of the enormous cost associated with keeping ships off shore, while await-ing a succession of treat-ments and final clearance to discharge their cargo.
Equally involved in the longer term are the border inspection organisations (BIOs), accredited by MPI to undertake pre-export biosecurity inspections, with substantial facilities across several vehicle exporting markets. These companies are the ones who will be responsible for ensuring that the BMSB pest, now identi-fied as being of a higher risk during their hibernation sea-son, do not “pass Go” at the border checkpoint in future.
First, the good newsGiven the unexpected
nature of the crisis when it arrived on Waitangi Day, this was always going to be a steep learning curve, with solutions being proposed and tested across all fronts.
Firstly, what was effective? The overriding good news was that a BMSB infestation was prevented from taking hold. This fact is absolutely
critical – to our valuable pri-mary industries like kiwifruit and viticulture, our industry’s position as part of “NZ Inc”, and of course the overall safety of New Zealand’s eco-systems. We have received expressions of gratitude and support from Horticulture New Zealand, Kiwifruit Vine Health and others, in taking a positive and proactive stance in protecting our shared natural environment.
Another positive aspect of the joint response was the way our industry worked together with Government agencies, to develop solu-tions to deal with the issue. We were all trying to hit a moving target, and it was acknowledged that every-one involved had contrib-uted to the problem solving effort and the solutions that were applied.
Critically, the review process has given us a strong footing to address any such crisis in future – whether that be new business-as-usual measures to prevent transportation of BMSB, or the ability to identify and neutralise future threats.
Where can we improve?
A crisis in review
Advice and advocacy for the used vehicle industry
CORPORATE PARTNERS
Continued from page 24
Unsurprisingly, there were several areas where we will be looking to operate better in future. Chief among these, so to speak, was leader-ship – while VIA was able to convene and facilitate activities from the industry side, all have agreed that we would benefit from MPI tak-ing a stronger role in defining the required outcomes and clearly specifying the treat-ment options available. The review of the Import Health Standard (IHS) is the immedi-ate next step.
All likewise agreed on the need to establish robust, certified treatment protocols for all imports of vehicles
and machinery, before they leave their source jurisdic-tion; this is very much in train already with the BIOs, with clear direction from MPI. And while our communication of the issues and updates throughout the exercise was appreciated, within our own industry and far beyond, all agreed to develop a stronger and more formalised net-work with Government and the various affected indus-tries. This will ensure that all developments are shared in a timely manner, and minimise the potential for rumours behind closed doors and in the media.
Taking a lead on the IHS
Following on from our core involvement in the joint crisis response, MPI has now asked VIA to take a lead in informing the industry of the updated Import Health Standard.
A document that all im-porters of machinery depend upon heavily, the process for this upcoming release was delayed as a result of the BMSB issue. A draft of the revised IHS will now be provisionally released by July 13, and made available to those parties who made earlier submissions. They will have 10 working days to review and lodge any appeal on technical issues, and the revised IHS will be confirmed
by the end of July. The date of implementa-
tion remains at September 1 2018. Two MPI advisers will be in Japan in August and through to September, to review and approve systems and treatments for both new and used vehicles.
As always, MPI is the regulator – they make and enforce the rules. VIA’s role is to liaise with them and to ensure that industry under-stands and can meet the le-gal requirements. Our remit, as always, is to take a lead on these issues, and any others which are likely to affect our industry.
As of 31 May 2018, ve-hicles fitted with Takata “alpha-type” airbags
that have not been reworked are considered prohibited imports, and are liable to seizure by New Zealand Customs.
With the compulsory recall of all alpha-type Takata airbag inflators in place, compliance inspection agencies are now required to enforce section 6.4 of the Land Transport Rule – Vehicle Standards Compliance 2002 as it relates to this mandatory recall. The rule states, in part, that:
“A vehicle may be certified ... only if a vehicle inspector or inspecting organisation has identified the vehicle and has determined, on reason-able grounds, that it is safe to
be operated ... [taking into account] additional relevant information of which the inspector is aware .... about the vehicle issued by a manu-facturer, modifier, repairer or other relevant person.”
This much was known and communicated to VIA members and dealers in the run-up to the compulsory recall taking effect. However, it is likely that NZTA will soon further require the inspec-tion agencies to enforce this section to cover all safety-re-lated recalls outstanding on a vehicle when it is presented for compliance.
“Importers are urged to complete due diligence before purchasing in Japan and other source markets,” says VIA Technical Manager
Malcolm Yorston. “With the compulsory recall in place, it is now best practice to ensure that all recalls have been closed out prior to deregis-tration.”
The inspection agencies are now working on systems to identify vehicles subject to recall, and which have been reworked, before they are certified for export. For now, the single source of truth for recall information on all vehi-cles prior to export is the on-line JASPA search tool, found here: https://www.jaspa.or.jp/portals/recallsearch/ . This is best accessed using Google Chrome, so that you can se-lect the Translate option (right click to view if not automati-cally offered).
Trade Me Motors, a VIA
member and sponsor, is also stepping up to assist both dealers and consumers in accessing recall information. Vehicle Information Reports (VIRs) from their MotorWeb site now include an alert if the information available shows that the vehicle is subject to the Takata airbag recall. While compulsory recall data isn’t available from all manufactur-ers yet, Trade Me is continu-ing to work closely with the NZTA, and VIRs will reflect updates as they occur.
This approach for both dealers and consumers will ideally support a more rapid resolution to the recall process, and the elimination of affected airbags from our fleet.
Safety recalls: clear before you ship
JAPANESE MARKETPLACE
26 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
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Pricing
With the industry in New Zealand still reeling from the
effects of the extraordinary set of events over the past five months, it was hoped that June might provide the market the opportunity of correction and re-consoli-dation.
The month commenced with wharf facilities in Japan still burgeoning with stock overflow from the BMSB cri-sis, further exaggerated by shipping schedule readjust-ments of the past quarter still in force, or at the very least, only now starting to return to normality.
Agents and logistics providers alike were now grappling with a new set of
challenges as the practical aspects of dealing with the Takata Alpha airbag recall criteria forced a re-think on the movements of stock from auction or purchase source, effectively requiring double-handling in a number of cases and the need to ca-ter to affected vehicles with a secondary pre-quarantine stage of port storage.
Extremely high arrival numbers into New Zealand during the month therefore failed to accurately portray the relative weakness of the buying market in Japan for Kiwi dealers.
Auction prices have shown stubborn resilience, mov-ing away from the traditional cyclical pricing peaks and troughs to a flat-line model of strengthened values
eroded only by substandard or true end-of-life stock.
The flurry of activity and purchasing by Kiwis at the end of the Japanese fis-cal year was not due to any hoped-for stock dumping, but rather by the pragmatic need for replenished yards at (almost) any cost, hoping to re-stock in time for the mid-winter season in New Zealand on the back of good sales volumes during sum-mer and early autumn.
By June, it had become clear that the Japanese domestic market shows no signs of easing, and that market pressures in New Zealand due to a significant slump in buyer activity during the month and the effec-tive devaluation of stock values through dumping - as dealers try to recoup capital - cannot be addressed by lower prices paid for re-placement units.
Kiwi stock buyers have either steered their focus towards the bottom end of the market, where capital outlay at least is minimal and exposure to New Zealand pricing variables less risky, or accepted that any re-adjust-ment in retail expectation for later-model lower-mileage desirable stock will need to either be pushed on to consumers, or swallowed up in ever-decreasing margins simply to keep yards full of the vehicles buyers want.
Good-quality later-model stock is expensive to buy, and there is simply no magic solution to the problem of higher landed costs against a static retail value facing pressure from both con-sumer hesitance and the new car marketplace.
Japan faces enormous pressures upon its domes-
tic vehicle marketplace of the near future, as an aging population and increasing disinterest by the younger population in vehicle owner-ship creates a stagnating new-car sales environment, and in turn, ever-increasing pressure upon good used stock pricing to satisfy the domestic retail outlets.
This trend has been exag-gerated by an increasing number of fleets or dealer-ship networks bypassing the traditional auction platforms and either creating their own models for used retail, or dealing direct in bulk with the volume-based outlets.
Exhibited unit auction numbers have been showing a gradual decline over re-cent years and this trend is expected to continue, if not accelerate, further shutting out the Kiwi market buyers and placing additional pres-sure on the value of stock that is available.
Commercial vehicle activ-ity, principally light vans, has seen a surge in volume and value during 2018, as compliant models for New Zealand gradually become on-stream for purchase against a Kiwi market starved of replacement units for a number of years.
Cheap stock still provides the backbone of market volumes, driven as much by a lack of capital in the New Zealand dealer market as any consumer demand.
The simple reality is that low-value stock has become harder and harder to derive acceptable margins from in 2018, with the units now, more than ever, simply a means to drive the finance and insurance business within a dealership as the main profit.
BY GRAEME MACDONALD
Prices holding up in Japan
JAPANESE MARKETPLACE
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 27
Toyota is working with convenience and fuel store chain Seven-
Eleven to roll out fuel-cell powered delivery trucks.
Toyota will use its fuel-cell car experience to develop the vehicles. Fuel-cell trucks are expected to be intro-duced from next spring.
“We are looking to intro-duce fuel-cell trucks in all areas across Japan in the future,” says Kazuki Furuya, president of Seven-Eleven Japan.
The newly developed truck uses the same type of fuel-cell as Toyota’s Mirai passenger car, released in 2014, and will use electricity generated from hydrogen to keep the products in the back of the truck cold.
Seven-Eleven will intro-duce two fuel-cell trucks for use in the Tokyo metropoli-tan area to deliver sandwich-es, milk-based drinks and other refrigerated products to a store with a hydrogen station in Tokyo’s Ota Ward and other outlets.
While the fuel-cell trucks can cover 200 kilometres a day, they can also provide electricity to Seven-Eleven shops during times of natu-ral disasters.
Seven-Eleven uses 6000 trucks across the nation for deliveries.
While eco-friendly vehi-cles account for more than 15% of them, the conveni-ence store chain aims to raise the ratio to 20% by 2020.
Toyota rolls out first connected cars
Toyota Japan has announced it has launched its first generation of connected cars in Japan.
The Corolla hatchback and Crown sedan models are equipped with inter-net connections, which can commu-nicate with the driver’s mobile phone and databases of transport facilities to provide the driver with real time information.
For example, if there is a problem with the vehicle, a Toyota dealer can get information directly from the car and give advice to the driver.
The car can also be controlled in some ways from the mobile - for example it can be unlocked or the lights turned on - or fuel levels can be monitored.
Toyota president Akio Toyoda says the brand is serious about spreading connected cars, and customers’ views collected through connected cars will
contribute to developing new technol-ogies such as autonomous driving.
It aims to equip all its passenger
vehicles to be sold in Japan and the United States with the device for inter-net access by 2020.
Toyota teams with Seven-Eleven in Hydrogen push
Nissan cans battery division sale
Nissan has backed out of a deal to sell its electric vehicle
battery unit to Chinese firm GSR.
It announced the move, blaming GSR and suggesting it did not have sufficient funds. The transac-tion was due to close June 29.
The battery operation is called Automotive Energy Supply Corporation, which builds batteries for the Leaf and other models in Japan, the United States and United Kingdom. The sale would have been the largest trans-fer of lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity ever, Bloomberg NEF wrote in a report last August.
It would have given Nissan flexibility to shop around for battery suppliers, and also released funds for new technology investment.
Nissan has been selling stakes in businesses, includ-ing parts manufacturer Calsonic Kansei Corp. and forklift truck maker UniCarriers Corp.
Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has often been quoted saying buying batteries from suppliers would be more economical than making them.
The automaker established Automotive Energy Sup-ply jointly with NEC Corp. in 2007 to make batteries for the all-electric Leaf when few other suppliers existed.
Its new China-only electric Sylphy model uses batter-ies made by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.
28 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
F&ITALK
James Searle is general manager of DPL Insurance Ltd
www.autosure.co.nz | 0800 267 873
INSURANCE
• Mechanical Breakdown
• Payment Protection
• Loan Equity
• Motor Vehicle
If you’d like to become an Autosure Approved Dealer, contact us to find out more.
We’ve got New Zealand covered!And we’re here to help you provide the best insuranceprotection for your customers.
Many dealers think of customers as just that - cus-
tomers.Top-performing deal-
ers take it a step further and think of their cus-tomers as something more: - strategic partners.
Dealerships need a wide network of partners to ef-fectively conduct business – dealer management system (DMS) suppliers, finance and insurance providers, media providers and many others are strategic necessities. Why not think of custom-ers the same way?
In addition to custom-ers being vital to business through purchasing vehi-cles, service and parts, fi-nance and insurance, they can also serve as partners for inventory acquisition.
Business buildersThe acquisition of de-
sirable used vehicles for inventory has always been an important profit lever for dealerships.
In fact, according to Deloitte benchmarks for vol-ume dealerships, the gross return on investment for used vehicles is 60% versus 50% for new.
Additionally, this data shows that used car leads take fewer days to close than new cars and generally de-liver significantly higher aver-age transactional income.
Land Transport data for 2017 shows that on average only 43% of sales include a trade-in and dealerships only have a 30% share of all used vehicle sales nation-ally.
Leading dealers ensure
they have solid core inven-tory. Core vehicles are the models that sell the fastest, most consistently and most profitably at a dealership.
To acquire desirable inventory for remarketing,
one frequently overlooked alternative to traditional sources, is a dealership’s current customer base.
Dealerships already have the information required to have proactive conversations with custom-ers regarding trading in their current vehicle for an upgrade: Transparency of sales and service history, contact information, DMS data, and more.
The average dealer can generate incremental rev-enue by utilising its CRM to conduct campaigns, such as data mining, buy-list match-es and exchange-and-re-place payment programmes.
Smart dealers are already utilising technology tools to identify inventory acquisition opportunities, by leveraging readily available information.
One of the most ef-ficient and effective ways to acquire vehicles more cost-effectively is to use data mining technology to tap the wealth of valuable customer information
stored in a dealership’s DMS.An effective data mining
platform can scan a deal-ership customer data and identify people with vehi-cles that match current core inventory needs. It then
feeds warm leads into a CRM for follow-up.
Above all, mining the current book of business for these opportunities allows dealers to engage customers before com-petitors, keeping them top of mind.
DMS for inventory acquisition
Although the DMS is tra-ditionally considered a sales tool, it is also an unparal-leled method for identifying vehicles—and the custom-ers who own them — that a dealership wants on its yard for stock.
Any vehicle acquired from a customer through proac-tive outreach is not only a stocking opportunity, but a new sales opportunity.
An overseas analysis (Cox Automotive 2017) of deal-erships using data mining solutions found that leads
generated through this technology are more likely to result in action, and are converted more often and more effectively than any other source.
Despite its performance and cost-effectiveness, data mining technology is still a largely underused oppor-tunity in the vehicle sales space.
The availability of the technology, combined with an innovative mind set in using it as an inventory acquisition tool, makes it a must-use resource.
Lucrative sales opportunities
The use of data mining to identify inventory acquisi-tion opportunities through maximising the information available through your DMS, rather than traditional meth-ods is undeniably profitable.
Dealers ready to take advantage of maximising the opportunities and their in-ventory will enjoy faster sell-ing cycles, lower acquisition costs, and better margins.
Dealerships that con-sider their customers as long-term partners can quickly identify opportuni-ties for acquiring inven-tory for stock, match those prospects with their next vehicles, and establish a cy-cle that creates a significant competitive advantage and fruitful revenue stream for the foreseeable future.
At Autosure, we are con-stantly looking for innovative ways to support our dealers.
Talk to us today if you wish to maximise your sales and inventory opportuni-ties.
Turn your customers into inventory acquisition partners
www.autosure.co.nz | 0800 267 873
INSURANCE
• Mechanical Breakdown
• Payment Protection
• Loan Equity
• Motor Vehicle
If you’d like to become an Autosure Approved Dealer, contact us to find out more.
We’ve got New Zealand covered!And we’re here to help you provide the best insuranceprotection for your customers.
30 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
NEWSTALK
what drivesMerv Whiston?“Working with dealers, helping them to maximise F&I opportunities has been a passion of mine since I first started to sell cars. I’ve been in the auto industry for over 30 years, and known Steve Owens since 1989.
I joined the company when Steve established Provident Insurance. My clients are a great and diverse group of people, most of whom I have known for many years. They know that I’m highly motivated and they know that we are committed to helping them succeed in their business.
Why so many new dealers are partnering with Provident.
At Provident we have a strong partnership culture with our dealer clients. We don’t see ourselves as an insurance company but more a part of the motor industry.
We have a set of values that drive us and serve as our guiding principles. You can’t just talk about your values, you have to deliver on them every hour of every day. That’s what we do, with product training, systems and support to help generate higher levels of F&I profitability and customer service. We do what we promise and that’s our difference.”
Business Development Manager - Canterbury
Jaques Gray, Provident Insurance national sales manager
1. Listen more, talk lessThe most important thing you need to do before you
begin explaining all the benefits of insurance products, is to let your customer tell you about themselves. In-stead of offering your insurance products, ask your customer about their lifestyle. Ask questions about their family and any concerns they may have for their future. They will tell you what they are looking for. Remember your role is to try and consult, not to try and be the pushing salesperson.
2. Don’t sell products, provide solutionsIf you have been informed by your customer what their
concerns are, you should look to offer how you can help to solve a problem they may be worried about occurring, or potentially are not aware off and may happen at a later date. People are much more likely to purchase insurance products that will resolve their problems and provide them and their family’s peace of mind. You will achieve their buy in if you ask and successfully understand the families’ needs and have fol-lowed rule number one: Listen more, talk less.
3. Highlight benefits over featuresRather than focusing on the technical features of an insur-
ance policy (although you do need to disclosure the T & C’s clearly prior to purchase), first highlight how having insur-ance will cover your customer in terms they can relate to. For example, explain how the policy will help pay the bills if they become disabled, or get sick or have an accident. Be sure to keep the conversation on topic, re fulfilling a solution should they unfortunately be subject to an incident covered by the insurance policy you are recommending.
I hope these tips help you to bond and gain the trust of your customer. Remember first they have to like and trust you, before they are comfortable to purchase from you.
Providing insurance is in simple terms, to provide a prom-ise to cover an incident.
Providing solutions is a technique that helps to lead your customer into making an informed decision, so they know that they have purchased cover that is not only right for them today, but that they will also have no regrets about tomorrow.
The three best F&I sales tips for insurance products
32 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
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AUCTIONS
HEIWA AUTO
+64 90 9614 [email protected] specialist of exporting quality used vehicles, provid-ing the best service in the car industry.
MANHEIM AUCTIONS
09 918 0500www.manheim.co.nzManheim is New Zealand’s largest provider of automo-tive auction services. Auctions held weekly.
NICHIBO09 374 4436www.nichibojapan.comWe have a wealth of knowl-edge and experience in auto auctions throughout Japan which we know will enable us to assist you in making your next purchase.
NIKKYO0211-740-258 http://www.nikkyocars.comDespite changing times in the industry our focus on customer satisfaction and quality cars has kept us going for 22 years.
SBL INTERNATIONAL VEHICLE BROKERING03 377 6578www.sbltd.co.nz“NZ owned and operated SBL continue to set the motor industry benchmark for importing vehicles”
FINANCE & INSURANCE
AUTOSUREPhone: 09 489 9107www.autosure.co.nzAutosure NZ has been a lead-ing provider of automotive-owner protection policies for the NZ retail motor vehicle industry since 1986.
OXFORD FINANCE
0800 263 [email protected]’s friendly team can offer you flexible solutions to finance the purchase of your new vehicle.
PROVIDENT INSURANCE
0800 676 [email protected]: Steve Owens Chief Executive OfficerHelping dealers “Make Profits Grow”. Specialist F&I training, support and products to retail motor vehicle traders.
UDC FINANCE0800 500 832www.udc.co.nzYour first choice in automo-tive lending. Fixed Rates. Fast Approval.
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AUTO-IT LIMITED 0800 776 [email protected] your DMS? Let Auto-IT help you, the leader in New Generation Dealer Management Systems.
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IT SERVICES
AUTOPLAY.CO.NZ09 361 [email protected] use the latest technology to deliver a suite of smart digital tools to our customers.
PARTS
REPCO 0800 800 878www.repco.co.nzRepco - over 800 highly trained staff, 82 stores nationwide and home to New Zealand’s leading automotive brands.
PAINT & FABRIC SUPPLIERS
GARDX 0800 242 739www.gardx.co.nzNew Zealand Premier Paint & Interior Supplier. Providing profit solutions that achieves results.
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VINZVehicle Inspection NZ0800 GO VINZ (0800 468 469)[email protected] Zealand’s best choice for WoF / CoF, Inspections, Certifications and much more.
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STATSTALKUSED VEHICLES
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 33
TOP 10 USED IMPORT COMMERCIAL MODELS
MAKE MODELJUN
'18MAKE MODEL
JUN
'17TOYOTA HIACE 355 TOYOTA HIACE 423NISSAN CARAVAN 60 NISSAN CARAVAN 82MAZDA BONGO 53 MAZDA BONGO 51TOYOTA REGIUS 40 NISSAN NV200 49NISSAN NV200 38 ISUZU ELF 33ISUZU ELF 29 TOYOTA REGIUS 32NISSAN VANETTE 29 TOYOTA DYNA 29NISSAN NV350 27 TOYOTA TOWNACE 29TOYOTA DYNA 27 NISSAN VANETTE 28NISSAN ATLAS 23 NISSAN NAVARA 24
USED IMPORT COMMERCIAL MAKES
MAKEJUN '18
JUN '17
Movement% Change
Market Share
TOYOTA 453 536 -15.5 45.3NISSAN 201 236 -14.8 20.1MAZDA 65 70 -7.1 6.5ISUZU 53 67 -20.9 5.3FORD 39 52 -25.0 3.9HINO 33 20 Up 3 65.0 3.3MITSUBISHI 33 40 Down 1 -17.5 3.3CHEVROLET 20 20 0.0 2.0FIAT 20 8 Up 1 150.0 2.0HOLDEN 13 25 Down 3 -48.0 1.3OTHER 69 55 25.5 6.9TOTAL 999 1129 -11.5 100.0
Continued on page 34
Used import passenger registrations were down 5.2% for the
month to 12,651 units, from 13,339 this time last year.
Overall for the year the market is now down 7%.
Commercial registrations fared worse, down 11.5% to 999 vehicles. For the year this segment is now down 8%.
Toyota was the most popular brand, but suffered a 12.8% drop in registration to 2881 units, representing 22.8% of registrations.
Nissan took second on 2486 units, down 4% for 18.7% of the market, while
Mazda in third recorded 2018 units, up 1.8% for a 16%
market share.Honda in fourth recorded
1322 units, up 1.4% for a 10.4% stake, followed by Suzuki on 714, up 9.3% for a 5.6% market share.
The Nissan Tiida took the top spot in used registra-tions on 627 vehicles – only slightly ahead of the Mazda Axela on 621 vehicles.
Downward trend continues for imports
The Suzuki Swift was third on 605 units, followed by the Toyota Corolla on 559 vehicles and the Honda Fit on 550.
The most popular large car was the Subaru Legacy on 356 units, the top hybrid was the Toyota Prius on 336, top people mover the Toyota Wish on 322, the top electric
vehicle the Nissan Leaf on 297 and the Mitsubishi Out-lander the top SUV on 230.
In commercials, Toyota leads on 453 vehicles, down 15.5% for a 45.3% market share.
Nissan took second sec-ond on 201 vehicles, down 14.8% for a 20.1% market share, followed in third by Mazda on 65, down 7.1% for a 6.5% stake.
Isuzu was the top truck-only brand on 53, followed by Ford on 39.
Toyota’s Hiace was – as usual – the top import com-
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USED IMPORT COMMERCIAL MAKES – YEAR-TO-DATE 2018
CH
EV
RO
LET
DO
DG
E
FIA
T
FOR
D
HIN
O
HO
LDE
N
ISU
ZU
MA
ZD
A
MIT
SUB
ISH
I
NIS
SAN
TO
YO
TA
VO
LKSW
A-
GE
N
OT
HE
R
TO
TAL
18-Jan 13 8 35 45 26 22 57 78 36 210 441 3 50 102417-Jan 19 4 23 30 19 13 41 83 33 197 404 10 52 928
% diff -32 100 52 50 37 69 39 -6 9 7 9 -70 -4 1018-Feb 19 3 15 48 49 16 47 41 41 203 407 8 51 94817-Feb 15 2 9 35 31 19 45 94 40 191 466 10 41 998
% diff 27 50 67 37 58 -16 4 -56 3 6 -13 -20 24 -518-Mar 21 6 7 39 30 20 48 75 39 229 399 3 59 97517-Mar 19 7 9 30 41 23 64 90 45 263 602 8 48 1249
% diff 11 -14 -22 30 -27 -13 -25 -17 -13 -13 -34 -63 23 -2218-Apr 13 3 4 38 30 11 54 35 22 174 389 5 50 82817-Apr 21 4 4 33 20 22 45 54 27 187 27 187 277 908
% diff -38 -25 0 15 50 -50 20 -35 -19 -7 1341 -97 -82 -918-May 24 11 5 41 46 29 79 65 41 223 494 7 41 110617-May 26 5 9 39 39 23 58 70 37 269 515 9 51 1150
% diff -8 120 -44 5 18 26 36 -7 11 -17 -4 -22 -20 -418-Jun 20 4 20 39 33 13 53 65 33 201 453 6 59 99917-Jun 20 5 8 52 20 25 67 70 40 236 536 6 44 1129
% diff 0 -20 150 -25 65 -48 -21 -7 -18 -15 -15 0 34 -12YTD 18 110 35 86 250 214 111 338 359 212 1240 2583 32 310 5880YTD 17 120 27 62 219 170 125 320 461 222 1343 2550 230 513 6362
%diff -8 30 39 14 26 -11 6 -22 -5 -8 1 -86 -40 -8
AROUND THE COUNTRY PASSENGER
REGISTRATIONS
DISTJUN'18
JUN'17
% CHANGE
WHA 279 310 -10.00AUC 5905 6379 -7.43HAM 887 853 3.99THA 104 86 20.93TAU 458 564 -18.79ROT 173 149 16.11GIS 73 70 4.29NAP 297 302 -1.66NEW 187 216 -13.43WAN 129 97 32.99PAL 398 368 8.15MAS 72 90 -20.00WEL 1011 960 5.31NEL 265 287 -7.67BLE 61 87 -29.89GRE 28 36 -22.22WES 3 11 -72.73CHR 1582 1686 -6.17TIM 121 147 -17.69OAM 19 29 -34.48DUN 409 438 -6.62INV 190 174 9.20TOTAL 12651 13339 -5.16
Continued from page 33
mercial model on 355, though this is a big drop from 423 in the same month of 2017.
The Nissan Caravan was second on 60, followed by the Mazda Bongo on 53.
Farmer Auto Village group manag-ing director Michael Farmer suggested the Takata issue may be dragging on the used import trade, though he notes other factors could be at play.
“The cost of owning a NZ-new car are also quite attractive now, especially when looking at the costs of servicing, parts and residual value,” Farmer says.
“Buying in Japan is challenging at the moment, the availability of certain vehicles is difficult. The key to it is to adapt and change. the public deter-
mines the industry, It’s a changing environment and no-one wants to be the Kodak of the car world.”
A South Island dealer who did not wish to be named noted the downturn could be due to consumer confidence.
“This could be related to a slow-ing economy and a drop in consumer confidence - however, June and July are slow months for the industry. It could be that people are being more cautious with their money and other countries are willing to pay more than us for vehicles.”
Genuine Vehicle Imports (GVI) gen-eral manager Hayden Johnston says some parts of the market are doing bet-ter than others.
“We’re tracking well on both EVs and conventional cars. It depends what end of the market you are at too. Confi-dence in the European market seems to be down.”
Vehicle imports down in JuneVehicle imports have fallen in June,
NZ Customs motor vehicle statistics show. This is the number of vehicles landed here but not yet sold or regis-tered.
The total number of cars dropped in
Downward trend continues for imports
Continued on page 35
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THE 17 LEADING USED IMPORT PASSENGER MAKES – YEAR-TO-DATE 2018
AU
DI
BM
W
CH
EV
RO
LET
DA
IHA
TSU
FOR
D
HO
LDE
N
HO
ND
A
HY
UN
DA
I
MA
ZD
A
ME
RC
ED
ES
MIT
SUB
ISH
I
NIS
SAN
PE
UG
EO
T
SUB
AR
U
SUZ
UK
I
TO
YO
TA
VW
OT
HE
R
TO
TAL
18-Jan 250 523 65 8 115 46 1356 27 2310 210 440 2629 26 809 722 3232 445 506 1371917-Jan 264 568 56 14 102 43 1308 25 1979 275 469 2268 12 543 622 3396 467 522 12933
% diff -5 -8 16 -43 13 7 4 8 17 -24 -6 16 117 49 16 -5 -5 -3 618-Feb 192 467 63 8 122 39 1232 2 1996 250 325 2220 16 696 682 2872 366 500 1204817-Feb 227 528 53 19 109 61 1308 30 1871 267 413 2200 19 546 643 3038 439 489 12260
% diff -15 -12 19 -58 12 -36 -6 -93 7 -6 -21 1 -16 27 6 -5 -17 2 -218-Mar 235 514 48 8 104 40 1188 35 1978 227 307 2132 22 704 606 2878 357 458 1184117-Mar 297 713 80 13 130 61 1449 39 2058 356 548 2543 17 605 711 3722 548 584 14474
% diff -21 -28 -40 -38 -20 -34 -18 -10 -4 -36 -44 -16 29 16 -15 -23 -35 -22 -1818-Apr 228 471 39 9 0 25 1053 23 1760 222 379 1970 14 623 604 2644 371 458 1089317-Apr 252 553 47 9 90 67 1233 33 1823 287 464 2292 15 573 626 3209 465 469 12507
% diff -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -10018-May 276 621 41 12 102 44 1374 30 2063 257 463 2630 17 770 682 3102 402 534 1342017-May 287 660 58 11 98 60 1409 36 2153 368 559 2750 14 669 692 3604 446 565 14439
% diff -4 -6 -29 9 4 -27 -2 -17 -4 -30 -17 -4 21 15 -1 -14 -10 -5 -718-Jun 267 590 34 11 81 34 1322 25 2018 216 421 2486 15 685 714 2881 363 488 1265117-Jun 252 537 46 11 120 68 1304 28 1983 290 507 2590 14 669 653 3304 437 526 13339
% diff 6 10 -26 0 -33 -50 1 -11 2 -26 -17 -4 7 2 9 -13 -17 -7 -5YTD 18 1448 3186 290 56 524 228 7525 142 12125 1382 2335 14067 110 4287 4010 17609 2304 2944 74572YTD 17 1579 3559 340 77 649 360 8011 191 11867 1843 2960 14643 91 3605 3947 20273 2802 3155 79952
%diff -8 -10 -15 -27 -19 -37 -6 -26 2 -25 -21 -4 21 19 2 -13 -18 -7 -7
20 TOP USED IMPORT PASSENGER MODELS
MAKE MODELJUN'18
MAKE MODELJUN'17
NISSAN TIIDA 627 NISSAN TIIDA 602MAZDA AXELA 621 MAZDA AXELA 558SUZUKI SWIFT 605 SUZUKI SWIFT 554TOYOTA COROLLA 559 TOYOTA COROLLA 518HONDA FIT 550 MAZDA DEMIO 440MAZDA DEMIO 474 HONDA FIT 439SUBARU LEGACY 356 TOYOTA WISH 348TOYOTA PRIUS 336 SUBARU LEGACY 346TOYOTA WISH 322 MAZDA ATENZA 315NISSAN LEAF 297 MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER 293MAZDA ATENZA 237 TOYOTA PRIUS 281MAZDA PREMACY 231 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 265MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER 230 TOYOTA MARKX 253VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 228 TOYOTA VITZ 240NISSAN NOTE 223 NISSAN DUALIS 223TOYOTA VITZ 216 TOYOTA ESTIMA 204BMW 3 SERIES 209 MAZDA MPV 201NISSAN SKYLINE 181 BMW 3 SERIES 197SUBARU IMPREZA 180 HONDA ODYSSEY 193NISSAN DUALIS 169 MAZDA PREMACY 188
20 TOP USED IMPORT PASSENGER MAKES
MAKEJUN'18
JUN'17
Movement% Change
Market Share
TOYOTA 2881 3304 -12.8 22.8NISSAN 2486 2590 -4.0 19.7MAZDA 2018 1983 1.8 16.0HONDA 1322 1304 1.4 10.4SUZUKI 714 653 Up 1 9.3 5.6SUBARU 685 669 Down 1 2.4 5.4BMW 590 537 9.9 4.7MITSUBISHI 421 507 -17.0 3.3VOLKSWAGEN 363 437 -16.9 2.9AUDI 267 252 Up 1 6.0 2.1MERCEDES-BENZ 216 290 Down 1 -25.5 1.7LEXUS 105 89 Up 1 18.0 0.8FORD 81 120 Down 1 -32.5 0.6VOLVO 76 69 10.1 0.6JAGUAR 44 37 Up 5 18.9 0.3LAND ROVER 41 47 -12.8 0.3CHEVROLET 34 46 -26.1 0.3HOLDEN 34 68 Down 3 -50.0 0.3DODGE 33 25 Up 4 32.0 0.3PORSCHE 28 40 Down 2 -30.0 0.2OTHER 212 272 -22.1 1.7TOTAL 12651 13339 -5.2 100.0
June to 26,535 compared with 27,757 for the previous month which was led by a fall in new car imports.
Used cars were up in June to 16,272 units compared with 15,484 units the previous month.
However, new cars were down to 10,263 units compared with 12,273 units the previous month.
The total number of car imports for the
year to date is 139,089 units.Commercial vehicle imports also took a
hit in June with the total number of truck and van imports for the month down to 4567 units compared with 5308 the previous month.
The total number of all vehicle imports for June dropped to 31,313 units compared with 33,270 the previous month.
Continued from page 34
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NEW PASSENGER MAKES
MAKEJUN'18
JUN'17
Movement% Change
Market Share
TOYOTA 1558 2011 -22.5 16.0MAZDA 862 940 -8.3 8.9HYUNDAI 823 829 -0.7 8.5MITSUBISHI 727 667 Up 2 9.0 7.5HOLDEN 695 686 Down 1 1.3 7.1KIA 639 626 Up 1 2.1 6.6SUZUKI 563 677 Down 2 -16.8 5.8HONDA 521 440 Up 1 18.4 5.4FORD 443 459 Down 1 -3.5 4.6VOLKSWAGEN 413 430 -4.0 4.2NISSAN 394 361 Up 1 9.1 4.1SUBARU 323 387 Down 1 -16.5 3.3AUDI 213 190 Up 1 12.1 2.2MERCEDES-BENZ 207 280 Down 1 -26.1 2.1BMW 170 163 4.3 1.7SKODA 170 154 10.4 1.7JEEP 169 127 33.1 1.7LAND ROVER 124 123 0.8 1.3PEUGEOT 71 60 Up 3 18.3 0.7SSANGYONG 69 83 Down 1 -16.9 0.7OTHER 571 488 17.0 5.9TOTAL 9725 10181 -4.5 100.0
NEW PASSENGER MODELS
MAKE MODELJUN'18
MAKE MODELJUN'17
TOYOTA RAV4 678 TOYOTA COROLLA 508
TOYOTA COROLLA 360 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 451
MAZDA CX-5 328 TOYOTA RAV4 412
KIA SPORTAGE 293 MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER 314
HOLDEN CAPTIVA 282 MAZDA CX-5 309
MITSUBISHI ASX 265 KIA SPORTAGE 297
HYUNDAI TUCSON 255 SUZUKI SWIFT 296
SUZUKI SWIFT 243 HYUNDAI SANTA FE 228
HONDA JAZZ 241 HYUNDAI TUCSON 225
MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER 222 TOYOTA YARIS 217
HYUNDAI KONA 194 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN 192
NISSAN QASHQAI 189 HOLDEN CAPTIVA 182
HYUNDAI SANTA FE 162 TOYOTALANDCRUISER PRADO
180
FORD ESCAPE 149 MITSUBISHI ASX 177
NISSAN X-TRAIL 148 SUBARU OUTBACK 177
SUBARU OUTBACK 143 HYUNDAI I20 173
MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE CROSS 138 MAZDA CX-3 173
HONDA CRV 137 HONDA HR-V 171
MAZDA MAZDA3 136 HOLDEN COMMODORE 158
TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 121 NISSAN X-TRAIL 153
NEW COMMERCIAL MODELS (UNDER 3500KG)
MAKE MODEL JUN'18
MAKE MODEL JUN'17
FORD RANGER 1049 FORD RANGER 1178TOYOTA HILUX 646 TOYOTA HILUX 964HOLDEN COLORADO 567 HOLDEN COLORADO 650MITSUBISHI TRITON 507 MITSUBISHI TRITON 466NISSAN NAVARA 365 ISUZU D-MAX 335ISUZU D-MAX 286 TOYOTA HIACE 304TOYOTA HIACE 227 NISSAN NAVARA 289MAZDA BT-50 202 MAZDA BT-50 202FORD TRANSIT 137 VOLKSWAGEN AMAROK 190LDV T60 135 FOTON TUNLAND 118 Continued on page 37
It is unclear if demand or the supply chain is to blame for June new
vehicle registrations dipping – the market down 8.2% overall.
The market for the month totalled 15,172 vehicles, down 1313 year-on-year.
Overall sales remain up, by 0.5%, year-to-date, ac-cording to registration data
Sales slowing? New cars down in June
released by the Motor Industry Association.
Registrations of 9725 passenger and SUV vehi-cles for the month of June were down 456 units on June 2017, a decrease of
4.5% and registrations of 5447 commercial vehi-cles were also down for the month, by 357 units (down 6.2%) on June 2017.
Toyota retained the overall market leader with 16% market share (2458 units), followed by Ford with 11% (1629 units) and Holden with 8% market share (1276
units).Toyota regained the mar-
ket lead for passenger and SUV registrations with 22% market share (1558 units) followed by Mazda with 9% (862 units) and Hyundai with 8% market share (823 units).
In the commercial sector, Ford retained the market lead with 22% market share (1186 units) followed by Toyota with 17% (900 units) and Holden third with 11% market share (581 units).
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 37
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NEW COMMERCIAL MAKES (UNDER 3500KG)
MAKEJUN'18
JUN'17
Movement% Change
Market Share
FORD 1186 1230 Up 1 -3.6 21.8TOYOTA 900 1299 Down 1 -30.7 16.5HOLDEN 581 666 -12.8 10.7MITSUBISHI 507 466 8.8 9.3ISUZU 415 460 -9.8 7.6NISSAN 365 291 25.4 6.7LDV 255 126 Up 2 102.4 4.7VOLKSWAGEN 244 232 Down 1 5.2 4.5MAZDA 202 202 Down 1 0.0 3.7FUSO 122 86 41.9 2.2OTHER 670 746 -10.2 12.3TOTAL 5447 5804 -6.2 100.0
NEW COMMERCIAL MAKES (UNDER 3500KG) – YEAR-TO-DATE
FIA
T
FOR
D
FOT
ON
GR
EA
T W
ALL
HIN
O
HO
LDE
N
HY
UN
DA
I
ISU
ZU
LDV
MA
ZD
A
MER
CED
ES-B
ENZ
MIT
SUB
ISH
I
MIT
SUBI
SHI
FUSO
NIS
SAN
SSA
NG
YO
NG
TO
YO
TA
VOLK
SWAG
EN
OT
HE
R
TO
TAL
18-Jan 101 808 66 66 16 46 385 64 258 153 172 57 318 284 94 780 165 204 4037
17-Jan 63 788 67 45 0 42 383 68 271 87 154 40 219 276 83 698 123 266 3673
% diff 60 3 -1 47 10 1 -6 -5 76 12 43 45 3 13 12 34 -23 10
18-Feb 59 788 47 50 8 68 366 64 304 102 169 48 368 384 63 946 110 172 4116
17-Feb 64 713 66 35 8 45 364 97 255 101 186 51 282 346 52 747 76 246 3734
% diff -8 11 -29 43 0 51 1 -34 19 1 -9 -6 30 11 21 27 45 -30 10
18-Mar 69 1047 49 99 17 55 427 80 322 191 159 73 382 315 64 1225 160 244 4978
17-Mar 92 897 47 102 0 53 393 122 350 114 190 83 365 290 68 1103 115 255 4639
% diff -25 17 4 -3 4 9 -34 -8 68 -16 -12 5 9 -6 11 39 -4 7
18-May 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17-May 75 971 72 95 0 61 348 96 351 76 186 62 501 244 44 1125 118 320 4745
% diff -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100
18-May 80 1132 64 67 18 55 412 80 319 159 197 94 437 466 21 789 205 297 4892
17-May 75 971 72 95 0 61 348 96 351 76 186 62 501 244 44 1125 118 320 4745
% diff 7 17 -11 -29 -10 18 -17 -9 109 6 52 -13 91 -52 -30 74 -7 3
18-Jun 61 1186 57 122 16 70 581 56 415 255 202 97 507 365 23 900 244 290 5447
17-Jun 63 1230 119 86 26 65 666 84 460 126 202 85 466 291 45 1299 232 259 5804
% diff -3 -4 -52 42 -38 8 -13 -33 -10 102 0 14 9 25 -49 -31 5 12 -6
YTD 18 430 5764 324 451 89 348 2483 388 1899 1004 1032 470 2270 2082 293 5238 1006 1474 27045
YTD 17 422 5367 409 428 34 314 2476 557 1970 590 1046 371 2131 1710 332 5782 754 1540 26233
%diff 2 7 -21 5 162 11 0 -30 -4 70 -1 27 7 22 -12 -9 33 -4 3
Four of the top five selling models for the month of June were all light com-mercial vehicles, split only by the Toyota RAV4 in second place – the model boosted with rental volume. The Ford Ranger retained its position as the bestselling vehicle model with 1049 units. This was followed by the Toyota RAV4 with 678 units and the Toyota Hilux with 646 units.
The SUV Medium segment came in as the top segment for the month of June with 18% market share. This was closely followed by the Pick Up/Chassis Cab 4×4 also with 17% of the market, and the SUV Compact with 13% market share.
Motor Industry Associa-tion chief executive David Crawford notes fuel use could be shifting buyer pref-erences.
“The MIA has re-ceived many inquiries on whether higher fuel prices have resulted in people purchasing smaller vehicles or more electric vehicles,” Craw-ford says.
“Based on the results to end of June there appears to be a slight shift to smaller vehicles with the SUV medium and SUV compact seg-ments coming in first and third.”
EVs continue their climb
Half way through 2018 and the 8000 end-of-year electric vehicle target has already been
well exceeded.New Zealand’s EV fleet
stood at 8696 to the end of June, 507 more than recorded in May.
At this rate, the country will have more than 11,000 EVs by the end of 2018.
That’s well on track to meet the 16,000 goal for 2019 to achieve the previous Government’s aim of 64,000 EVs by the end of 2021.
Add in the Auckland
Continued from page 36
Continued on page 38
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NEW PASSENGER MAKES
ALF
A R
OM
EO
AU
DI
BM
W
CH
ER
Y
CH
RY
SLE
R
DO
DG
E
FOR
D
GR
EA
T W
ALL
HO
LDE
N
HO
ND
A
HY
UN
DA
I
JEE
P
KIA
LAN
D R
OV
ER
LEX
US
MA
ZD
A
MER
CED
ES-B
ENZ
MIN
I
MIT
SUB
ISH
I
NIS
SAN
PE
UG
EO
T
PO
RSC
HE
SKO
DA
SSA
NG
YO
NG
SUB
AR
U
SUZ
UK
I
TO
YO
TA
VO
LKSW
AG
EN
VO
LVO
OT
HE
R
TO
TAL
18-Jan 12 178 187 0 1 7 846 0 777 524 553 82 762 73 62 1025 188 77 626 423 89 54 140 82 342 591 2490 300 57 250 10798
17-Jan 7 154 198 2 1 15 778 0 1381 405 540 71 603 111 55 779 222 73 647 478 73 58 106 60 236 728 1644 474 44 207 10150
% diff 71 16 -6 -100 0 -53 9 -44 29 2 15 26 -34 13 32 -15 5 -3 -12 22 -7 32 37 45 -19 51 -37 30 21 6
18-Feb 5 169 144 0 1 4 395 0 602 412 489 142 512 76 69 773 166 70 489 269 86 35 104 64 157 577 1013 342 47 203 7415
17-Feb 3 176 160 0 4 23 611 0 654 373 606 56 513 93 62 755 245 45 547 346 48 22 104 93 305 624 990 355 48 189 8050
% diff 67 -4 -10 -75 -83 -35 -8 10 -19 154 0 -18 11 2 -32 56 -11 -22 79 59 0 -31 -49 -8 2 -4 -2 7 -8
18-Mar 6 193 232 0 1 4 504 0 673 636 551 143 617 83 71 858 200 66 722 371 99 37 164 59 291 605 1196 341 53 274 9050
17-Mar 11 203 196 0 2 55 625 0 711 519 686 94 626 107 66 905 253 59 691 341 56 34 72 81 242 734 1213 386 63 199 9230
% diff -45 -5 18 -50 -93 -19 -5 23 -20 52 -1 -22 8 -5 -21 12 4 9 77 9 128 -27 20 -18 -1 -12 -16 38 -2
18-Apr 8 140 126 0 0 8 312 0 540 317 398 88 511 60 61 760 183 46 486 354 84 20 116 42 373 539 712 258 51 255 6848
17-Apr 3 134 147 0 1 13 499 0 543 148 562 129 497 87 38 10 710 46 423 487 30 29 86 65 189 512 961 325 44 278 6996
% diff 167 4 -14 -100 -38 -37 -1 114 -29 -32 3 -31 61 7500 -74 0 15 -27 180 -31 35 -35 97 5 -26 -21 16 -8 -2
18-May 6 176 161 0 0 5 487 0 660 399 831 153 618 135 66 879 187 65 600 268 84 30 130 52 342 543 1779 336 50 233 9275
17-May 20 231 144 0 2 26 524 0 681 318 561 120 549 105 58 886 202 52 527 382 32 36 118 73 304 544 1245 423 45 178 8386
% diff -70 -24 12 -100 -81 -7 -3 25 48 28 13 29 14 -1 -7 25 14 -30 163 -17 10 -29 13 0 43 -21 11 31 11
18-Jun 22 213 170 0 0 5 443 0 695 521 823 169 639 124 66 862 207 56 727 394 71 33 170 69 323 563 1558 413 53 336 9725
17-Jun 21 190 2 0 2 31 459 0 686 440 829 127 626 123 0 940 280 73 667 361 60 29 154 83 387 677 2011 430 50 443 10181
% diff 5 12 8400 -100 -84 -3 1 18 -1 33 2 1 -8 -26 -23 9 9 18 14 10 -17 -17 -17 -23 -4 6 -24 -4
YTD 18 59 1069 1020 0 3 33 2987 0 3947 2809 3645 777 3659 551 395 5157 1131 380 3650 2079 513 209 824 368 1828 3418 8748 1990 311 1551 53111
YTD 17 65 1088 847 2 12 163 3496 0 4656 2203 3784 597 3414 626 279 4275 1912 348 3502 2395 299 208 640 455 1663 3819 8064 2393 294 1494 52993
%diff -9 -2 20 -100 -75 -80 -15 -15 28 -4 30 7 -12 42 21 -41 9 4 -13 72 0 29 -19 10 -11 8 -17 6 4 0
NEW AROUND THE COUNTRY PASSENGER
REGISTRATIONSDIST
JUN'18
JUN'17
% CHANGE
WHA 185 210 -11.90AUC 4293 4758 -9.77HAM 679 689 -1.45THA 135 108 25.00TAU 420 456 -7.89ROT 140 95 47.37GIS 46 50 -8.00NAP 267 237 12.66NEW 151 150 0.67WAN 103 67 53.73PAL 258 351 -26.50MAS 102 81 25.93WEL 812 779 4.24NEL 113 133 -15.04BLE 69 91 -24.18GRE 26 15 73.33WES 4 7 -42.86CHR 1430 1365 4.76TIM 70 98 -28.57OAM 13 25 -48.00DUN 257 277 -7.22INV 152 139 9.35TOTAL 9725 10181 -4.48
regional fuel tax from July 1, a national fuel tax which applies from September 30, a possible “feebate” to encour-age low-emission vehicles, the rapidly growing variety of EV models with increased range available and expand-ing charging infrastructure, and the 64,000 goal by 2021 appears even more achiev-able.
The latest Ministry of Transport EV figures show used imports continuing their dominance in the EV market.
Used light pure electrics made up 4764 of June’s 8696 total. That compares
with 4434 in May – a rise of 330.
New light pure electric vehicles reached 1633 to the end of June, 82 up on the previous month.
And new light plug-in hy-brids totalled 1540, 54 more than in May (1486).
Used light plug-in hybrids reached 676, 40 more than
Sales slowing? New cars down in JuneContinued from page 38
the previous month.Heavy EVs again barely
moved, June’s 83 only one more than in both April and May. July’s heavy EV figures are expected to be boosted by the arrival of Wellington’s 10 electric buses, due on the road from July 15.
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 39
STATSTALKSECONDHAND
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 39
SECONDHAND REGISTRATIONS − JUNE 2018SALE TYPE WHA AUC HAM THA TAU ROT GIS NAP NEW WAN PAL MAS WEL NEL BLE GRE WES CHR TIM OAM DUN INV TOTAL
Cars 2018
Public to Trader 254 4965 1002 178 632 124 70 436 183 141 1320 112 1082 228 109 35 1663 147 1 473 270 13425
Public to Public 1930 13565 3150 621 2123 1009 411 1449 1010 636 1592 474 3146 1005 463 157 28 5088 499 133 2006 1130 41625
Trader to Public 585 5923 1279 282 839 392 138 607 363 260 794 206 1544 277 210 53 7 2063 221 38 713 453 17247
Cars 2017
Public to Trader 268 5046 1336 126 623 89 56 445 251 166 711 103 1112 287 141 51 1985 136 18 437 276 13663
Public to Public 1928 14249 3437 583 2326 837 369 1489 1053 534 1706 380 3191 1010 461 212 82 4972 520 206 1926 1076 42547
Trader to Public 611 5908 1477 233 948 302 156 668 405 195 813 185 1499 327 178 75 24 2216 218 69 713 429 17649
Cars % Change
Public to Trader -5.2 -1.6 -25.0 41.3 1.4 39.3 25.0 -2.0 -27.1 -15.1 85.7 8.7 -2.7 -20.6 -22.7 -31.4 -16.2 8.1 -94.4 8.2 -2.2 -1.7
Public to Public 0.1 -4.8 -8.4 6.5 -8.7 20.5 11.4 -2.7 -4.1 19.1 -6.7 24.7 -1.4 -0.5 0.4 -25.9 -65.9 2.3 -4.0 -35.4 4.2 5.0 -2.2
Trader to Public -4.3 0.3 -13.4 21.0 -11.5 29.8 -11.5 -9.1 -10.4 33.3 -2.3 11.4 3.0 -15.3 18.0 -29.3 -70.8 -6.9 1.4 -44.9 0.0 5.6 -2.3
Motorcycles 2018
Public to Trader 5 142 34 22 2 8 5 8 2 70 10 1 35 13 1 358
Public to Public 56 435 124 32 87 17 9 56 51 16 72 7 144 57 19 11 3 167 17 7 64 29 1480
Trader to Public 10 134 46 1 31 12 19 10 4 19 4 46 9 7 3 34 5 1 9 9 413
Motorcycles 2017
Public to Trader 3 124 26 2 15 1 11 1 8 27 6 51 5 20 2 1 7 3 313
Public to Public 58 462 103 24 78 21 16 59 60 20 54 11 130 50 17 11 6 178 21 13 66 35 1493
Trader to Public 10 117 40 4 27 5 2 18 14 5 17 9 43 10 2 4 1 30 3 10 3 374
Motorcycles % change
Public to Trader 66.7 14.5 30.8 -100.0 46.7 -100.0 -27.3 400.0 -100.0 -70.4 -66.7 37.3 100.0 75.0 -100.0 -100.0 85.7 -66.7 14.4
Public to Public -3.4 -5.8 20.4 33.3 11.5 -19.0 -43.8 -5.1 -15.0 -20.0 33.3 -36.4 10.8 14.0 11.8 0.0 -50.0 -6.2 -19.0 -46.2 -3.0 -17.1 -0.9
Trader to Public 0.0 14.5 15.0 -75.0 14.8 140.0 -100.0 5.6 -28.6 -20.0 11.8 -55.6 7.0 -10.0 250.0 -25.0 -100.0 13.3 66.7 -10.0 200.0 10.4
Trucks 2018
Public to Trader 75 806 265 18 131 29 34 105 69 45 153 43 120 72 40 10 285 32 2 89 93 2516
Public to Public 357 1847 627 157 463 159 78 276 206 80 297 75 436 203 114 55 16 741 118 34 319 209 6867
Trader to Public 146 715 306 33 206 56 59 131 62 53 176 42 157 73 53 15 9 322 58 14 129 103 2918
Trucks 2017
Public to Trader 65 651 238 24 99 24 30 91 27 20 127 23 98 64 34 6 288 34 4 65 106 2118
Public to Public 396 1638 563 102 391 136 96 259 219 105 293 89 354 200 81 57 11 691 95 52 319 198 6345
Trader to Public 145 679 250 48 184 76 37 112 64 41 146 27 136 85 46 14 3 360 57 18 143 91 2762
Trucks % change
Public to Trader 15.4 23.8 11.3 -25.0 32.3 20.8 13.3 15.4 155.6 125.0 20.5 87.0 22.4 12.5 17.6 66.7 -1.0 -5.9 -50.0 36.9 -12.3 18.8
Public to Public -9.8 12.8 11.4 53.9 18.4 16.9 -18.8 6.6 -5.9 -23.8 1.4 -15.7 23.2 1.5 40.7 -3.5 45.5 7.2 24.2 -34.6 0.0 5.6 8.2
Trader to Public 0.7 5.3 22.4 -31.3 12.0 -26.3 59.5 17.0 -3.1 29.3 20.5 55.6 15.4 -14.1 15.2 7.1 200.0 -10.6 1.8 -22.2 -9.8 13.2 5.6
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The market for secondhand - or non import used cars - appears to be struggling like the rest of the
market. All three classes of car sales were
down in June, while bike and truck transactions are looking far more
healthy. Dealer sales of cars were down
2.3% for the month to 17,247 units, while dealer purchases fell 1.7% to 13,425. The public transacted 41,625 vehicles - a 2.2% decline.
In bikes, dealer sales were up 10.4%
to 413, while dealer purchases jumped 14.4% to 358. The public market totalled 1493, down 0.9% year-on-year.
Truck dealers had a solid month, up 5.6% to 2918 for sales, while purchases were up 18.8% to 2516 vehicles. Public transactions rose 8.2% to 6867.
Secondhand not stellar
40 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
STATSTALKTRUCKS
STATSTALKBIKES
40 | AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
NEW BIKE MODELSMAKE MODEL JUN’18TNT MOTOR ROMA 2T 19SUZUKI UZ50 15UBCO 2X2 15HARLEY DAVIDSON STREET 18 STREET 500 13HONDA GLC 150SH 13SUZUKI GSX150 FDZA GIXXER 13PIAGGIO ZIP 50 2T 12KAWASAKI EX 400G L 11HARLEY DAVIDSON V-ROD 17 MUSCLE 10SUZUKI GSX150 DXA GIXXER 10
USED BIKE MAKESMAKE
JUN’18
JUN'17
% Change% of Market
HARLEY DAVIDSON 57 73 -21.9 38.3DUCATI 15 16 -6.3 10.1YAMAHA 14 8 75.0 9.4HONDA 13 13 0.0 8.7TRIUMPH 10 17 -41.2 6.7HYOSUNG 8 1 700.0 5.4KTM 7 3 133.3 4.7KAWASAKI 6 5 20.0 4.0BMW 5 8 -37.5 3.4SUZUKI 5 6 -16.7 3.4OTHER 9 21 -57.1 6.0TOTAL 149 171 -12.9 100.0
NEW BIKE MAKES
MAKEJUN'18
YTD'18
JUN'17
% Change
Market Share %
SUZUKI 78 696 91 -14.3 13.6HARLEY DAVIDSON 76 408 51 49.0 13.3HONDA 56 342 48 16.7 9.8YAMAHA 45 451 49 -8.2 7.9KAWASAKI 36 262 39 -7.7 6.3TRIUMPH 36 254 41 -12.2 6.3BMW 33 181 22 50.0 5.8KTM 29 187 49 -40.8 5.1TNT MOTOR 20 186 20 0.0 3.5MOPED 18 104 19 -5.3 3.1FORZA 15 128 6 150.0 2.6UBCO 15 22 0 2.6PIAGGIO 13 111 14 -7.1 2.3DUCATI 11 66 15 -26.7 1.9FACTORY BUILT 10 105 4 150.0 1.7INDIAN 9 85 12 -25.0 1.6VESPA 9 101 13 -30.8 1.6APRILIA 8 112 21 -61.9 1.4ADLY 7 33 1 600.0 1.2ROYAL ENFIELD 7 84 8 -12.5 1.2OTHER 42 302 47 -10.6 7.3TOTAL 573 4220 570 0.5 100.0
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Do you sell or deal with Motorcycles? your
ad here
After a busy month in May, June was more business-as-usual for
new motorcycle registrations.Registrations for the
month were up just 0.5% to 573 units from 570 this time last year. For the year the registration tally totals 4220 bikes.
While Suzuki continued to lead the new market, its re-sult took a 14.5% hit, down to 78 units for a 13.6% share. Its lead was nearly usurped by Harley Davidson, up 49% to be just two bikes behind on 76 for 13.3% of the market.
Honda took third in June on 56 bikes, up 16.7% for a 9.8% market share, while Yamaha in fifth fell 8.2% to
45 bikes for a 7.9% share.Kawasaki and Triumph
tied for fifth place on 36 units each.
While the TNT Roma 2T led the new bike market with 19 units, the interesting story came in second place. The Kiwi-developed Ubco 2X2 electric bike tied for second with the Suzuki UZ50 on 15 units each.
The Harley David-son Street 500, Honda GLC150SH and Suzuki GSX150 Gixxer tied for fourth on 13 bikes each.
The market for used import bikes did not have a good June, with registrations down 12.9% to 149 units for the month.
Bike sales stable
Harley Davidson con-tinued to lead, though it fell 21.9% to 57 units for a 38.3% market share.
Ducati took second on 15 bikes, down 6.3% for a 10.1% market share, followed by Yamaha on 14, up 75% for
9.4% of registrations.Honda was the fourth
most popular used import brand, unchanged on 13 units and with 8.7% of reg-istrations, while in fifth Tri-umph fell 41.2% to 10 bikes and a 6.7% share.
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 41 AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 41
NEW TRUCK MAKES (OVER 3500KG)
MAKEJUN'18
JUN'17
% CHANGE
MARKETYTD'18
YTD'17
ISUZU 129 125 3.2 19.2 600 595FUSO 122 98 24.5 18.1 453 502HINO 70 65 7.7 10.4 348 314SCANIA 37 22 68.2 5.5 125 152FACTORY BUILT 35 6 483.3 5.2 109 13FIAT 32 21 52.4 4.8 179 150BCI 29 0 4.3 30 23MERCEDES-BENZ 25 47 -46.8 3.7 168 203DAF 24 32 -25.0 3.6 152 133UD TRUCKS 23 19 21.1 3.4 118 125OTHER 147 144 2.1 21.8 865 772TOTAL 673 579 16.2 100.0 3147 2982
USED TRUCK MAKES
MAKEJUN'18
JUN'17
% CHANGE
MARKETYTD'18
YTD'17
ISUZU 48 60 -20.0 25.7 290 281TOYOTA 35 42 -16.7 18.7 217 221HINO 33 20 65.0 17.6 214 170NISSAN 17 17 0.0 9.1 90 84MITSUBISHI 16 23 -30.4 8.6 113 135DAF 5 2 150.0 2.7 15 7MERCEDES-BENZ 5 3 66.7 2.7 24 18FIAT 4 4 0.0 2.1 22 16FORD 4 2 100.0 2.1 13 14KENWORTH 4 3 33.3 2.1 12 18OTHER 16 16 0.0 8.6 136 125TOTAL 187 192 -2.6 100.0 1146 1089
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STATSTALKTRUCKS
New heavy vehicle registrations were up by a solid margin in
June and tracking towards another successful year.
Total new registrations of new trucks and buses over 3500kg GVM sits at 674 units for June. This is up 16.2% compared to the 579 units registered in the same period last year.
Overall, 3147 new trucks and buses have hit the road so far in 2018 compared with 2982 the same time last year.
Isuzu remains top of the table, up 3.2% year-on-year with 129 registered units for June compared to 125 units the year before. The brand is holding strong with a 19.2% market share.
Fuso come in second, up 24.5% with 122 units regis-tered compared with 98 in the same period last year.
Fuso are just behind Isuzu with an 18.1% market share.
Hino follow, up 7.7% with 70 registered units for June; Scania up 68.2% with 37 units; Fiat up 52.4% with 32 units; Mercedes-Benz down 46.8% with 25 units; DAF down 25% with 24 units and UD Trucks up 21.1% with 23 units.
Meanwhile, total used imported truck registrations were down slightly by 2.6% year-on-year with 187 units hitting the road. This com-pares to 192 units the same time last year.
Isuzu lead in used trucks over 3500kg GVM with 48 units registered in June. This is down 20% year-on-year compared to 60 units in
the previous period. It gives Isuzu a 25.7% market share in this segment.
Toyota come in second place, down 16.7% with 35 units registered and an 18.7% market share.
Hino are in third spot, up 65% with 33 registered units and
an 17.6% market share. This is followed by Nissan
with 17 units, Mitsubishi with 16 units, DAF with five units, Mercedes-Benz with five units, Fiat four units, Ford four units and Kenworth four units.
New truck and bus registrations strong
TRIBUNALTALK
42 | AUTOTALK JUNE 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz
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In February 2018, the purchaser paid $4750 for a 2004 BMW 525i from
the trader - the car having travelled 139,200km at the time.
The purchaser lives in Wellington, and the trader is based in Auckland. When the vehicle was delivered the purchaser claims it would not start, and required a replacement battery. The ve-hicle also quickly developed a fault with its mechatronic unit, which controls the vehicle’s transmission.
The first issue the tribunal needed to decide though was if it could hear the case,
as the trader alleged the purchaser was also a trader.
The tribunal can only hear cases where only one party is a trader. It claims this as he is a director of Harp Special Vehicles Limited, which is registered on the Companies Office records as being a motor vehicle trader.
The tribunal noted the purchaser is not a registered motor vehicle trader - he is not registered on the register of Motor Vehicle Traders maintained by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Nor does he hold himself out to be.
When is a trader not a trader?
The purchaser said he established the business many years ago because he planned to start a business importing and selling vehi-cles, but has never traded, and that he has never bought or sold a vehicle using that company. He noted he has sold a few vehicles, but not enough to qualify as a motor vehicle trader.
The tribunal accepted this:
“I have seen no evidence to show that [the purchaser] holds himself out as carry-ing on the business of a mo-tor vehicle trader, and there is insufficient evidence to show that he has sold or imported sufficient vehicles to qualify as a motor vehicle trader.
[The purchaser] admit-ted that he has sold some vehicles but was adamant that it was less than six in any one year.]
The vehicleThe vehicle was deliv-
ered late February 2018. The purchaser tried to start the vehicle the next day, but the engine would not turn over. He downloaded a copy of the vehicle’s owner’s manual, researched how to jump-start the vehicle, and then drove the vehicle to a battery specialist in Petone to have
the vehicle assessed, which advised the vehicle had a faulty battery, and replaced the battery at a cost of $334.
The purchaser claimed this alone breaches the acceptable quality guar-antee, and that he should be entitled to recover the cost of the new battery. The trader disagrees - and says that the battery was not faulty when the vehicle was picked up by the transport company, which delivered the vehicle, and that the bat-tery must have been dam-aged when the vehicle was jumpstarted by either them or the purchaser. The trader says that a BMW 525i must be jumpstarted using special terminals located beneath the bonnet, rather than by connecting the jumpstart cables to the battery termi-nals, and that an improper jumpstarting method can damage the battery.
The adjudicator disagreed:“I consider it unlikely that
the battery was damaged by either [the purchaser] or [transporter] when they jumpstarted the vehicle. [The purchaser] gave evidence that he followed the proce-dure set out in the owner’s manual when he jumpstarted the vehicle, and I accept that evidence. I also consider it
Vallabh v Impulse Motors Limited
Continued on page 43
TRIBUNALTALK
AUTOTALK JUNE 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 43
unlikely that an employee of [the transporter], which is a specialist vehicle transpor-tation firm, would use the incorrect procedure when jumpstarting the vehicle. It is possible that this may have occurred, but I consider it unlikely.”
“Instead, I consider it most likely that the vehicle had a faulty battery when it was sold.”
Soon after delivery the vehicle lost power and when into “limp mode” and its display showed a “trans-mission faulty” message. The vehicle was assessed by a franchise dealer, who could find no fault with the vehicle.
Soon after, the “transmis-sion faulty” message reap-peared and the vehicle again went into limp mode. The dealer this time found a fault with the vehicle’s transmis-sion, likely to be caused by a faulty mechatronic unit.
[The purchaser] then had the vehicle assessed by a transmission specialist, who found that the vehicle had a faulty mechatronic unit, which it estimated would cost $4071 to repair.
The trader says that the vehicle has an underly-ing electrical fault, which is causing the vehicle to generate “false” fault codes relating to a transmission fault that does not exist. It believes this was caused by the jumpstart or new battery.
It also claims that each of these issues could cause further electrical problems with the vehicle, sufficient to trigger fault codes for a
transmission fault that does not exist. In making this submission, it noted the car had been checked by the franchise dealer twice, and the reports provided to the tribunal do not definitively identify a transmission fault.
The tribunal’s technical expert advises that it is highly unlikely that the factors identified by the trader could have caused an underlying electrical problem of the kind alleged. Firstly, there is no clear evidence that the vehicle was improperly jumpstarted. Secondly, the expert notes that the battery installed is entirely appro-priate for the vehicle, and the delay in registering the battery will have no impact on the vehicle’s electrical system.
The expert considers that the symptoms described by the purchaser, together with the information from the franchise dealer and trans-mission expert, are consist-ent with a faulty mechatron-ic unit, and that the vehicle’s mechatronic unit requires replacement.
The adjudicator found both faults breached the ac-ceptable standard of qual-ity, and that the purchaser was entitled to have the mechatronic unit repaired, and to recover the costs for the vehicle assessment.
He is not, however, entitled to recover the cost of replacing the battery. Under section 6 of CGA the consumer must first give the supplier an opportu-nity to remedy the failure before they can have the fault repaired elsewhere and
The law:
Who is treated as a motor vehicle trader(1) A person is treated as carrying on the business of
motor vehicle trading for the purposes of this Act if—(a) the person holds out that the person is carrying on
the business of motor vehicle trading; or(b)in any specified period, the person sells more than
six motor vehicles, unless that person proves that those motor vehicles were not sold for the primary purpose of gain; or
(c) in any specified period, the person imports more than three motor vehicles, unless that person proves that those motor vehicles were not imported to be sold for the primary purpose of gain.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(a), a person holds out that the person is carrying on the business of motor vehicle trading if that person—
(a) advertises or notifies or states that the person car-ries on the business of motor vehicle trading; or
(b) in any way represents that the person is ready to carry, or is carrying, on the business of motor vehicle trading.
(3) Subsection (1)(b) does not apply to any trustee corporation (within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Trustee Act 1956) acting in the capacity of executor, administrator, trustee, guardian, committee, manager, agent, attorney, or liquidator, or in any fiduciary capacity, unless the trustee corporation is acting on behalf of the same person or estate.
What this means:While the trader is the director of a company listed
with the Companies Office as a motor vehicle trader, this does not make him a trader by default.
Neither the purchaser or the company are a ‘Reg-istered Motor Vehicle Trader’, as required under the Motor Vehicle Sales Act. He also claims to have not sold enough vehicles to be considered a trader under the act.
This does not mean the purchaser would have had to have been an RMVT to be considered a trader. Had he sold more vehicles - over six a year or imported more than three vehicles a year he could have been judged a trader by the tribunal.
You could - theoretically - be judged a trader without selling any vehicles, if you put yourself out there as a trader, for example implying you were one in a conver-sation or in a vehicle advertisement or a for sale listing.
recover the cost.The tribunal also granted
a telephone conference with
the trader if the transmission was not repaired within that time.
Continued from page 42
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DIARYTALK
THE DIARY AutoTalk’s group editor Scott Morgan looks at the month gone by on AutoTalk.co.nz
Continued on page 45
June 1VIA ponders financial optionsThe Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (VIA) is looking at implementing a levy system on individual vehicles to fund itself after posting a loss for the third consecutive year.
VIA chief executive David Vinsen says the organisa-tion lost $264,000 in the last year after a sharp drop-off in demand for its technical services.
The organisation will investigate implementing the scheme after approval from its national executive was granted at VIA’s annual general meet-ing this week.
June 5Car crashes into dealer’s yardA Taranaki dealer is $19,000 out of pocket after a car smashed into three vehicles on his yard.
One of the cars was written-off, while two oth-ers were seriously damaged after a Nissan Skyline crashed through a Give Way sign and wooden bollards at New Plymouth’s Amber and Black Quality Cars.
Owner Darryl MacDonald says the crash, which hap-pened on Friday at 11.30pm, is the fourth crash near his prop-erty in the last four months.
Australia’s May new car sales topple average AprilMay’s 100,000-plus new vehicle sales have trampled on the “average April” sales of just circa-82,000.
Australia’s 1500 franchised dealers helped manufacturers sell 2.1% more vehicles in the
first five months of 2018 over the same year-to-date period in 2017 – currently at 475,222 versus 465,381 last year, ac-cording to VFACTS data pro-vided by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
SUVs had a hand in pump-ing up May 2018 sales by 8.4%
June 6FSF launches industry awardsAutomotive F&I stars will be among those competing for top honours at the Financial Services Federation’s first ever Crediting Excellence Awards.
Nominations for the awards will take place follow-ing the FSF Conference on October 10, at a gala dinner sponsored by Equifax.
FSF executive director Lyn McMorran says the awards are an opportunity to celebrate re-sponsible lending excellence.
New managing director for Holden New ZealandHolden New Zealand manag-ing director Kristian Aquilina’s need to split his time between here and Australia has quickly come to an end – with a re-placement announced today.
Aquilina has split his time between the Kiwi position, and as Holden’s marketing director in Australia since April. He was advanced to that role on short notice follow-ing poor sales results for the brand in its home market.
His replacement is Marc Ebolo, who while based in Australia has undertaken a range of international postings for General Motors.
June 7Imports continue to suffer
Used import registrations have again recorded a fall as supply chain restrictions and slowing sales bite.
A total of 13,420 vehi-cles were registered for the month, down 7.1% from 14,439 this time last year. Year-to-date, passenger cars are down 7% overall, to 61,921 units.
In the commercial seg-ment, registrations fell 3.8% to 1106 vehicles. Year-to-date this segment is also down 7%, to a sum of 4881 units.
June 11Christchurch dealership goes underThe closure of a Christch-urch car dealership is causing headaches for customers.
March of Cars Under $7990 Ltd, which traded in Christchurch’s golden mile of car yards, has shut up shop, Stuff reports.
Customer Tama Skipper says the closure means no one is left to honour the consumer guarantees and warranties on the 2006 Mazda RX8 he bought from the dealership for $8000 in October last year.
ComCom warns South Island vehicle financierChristchurch-based motor vehicle finance lender Dealer Finance Limited (DFL) has received a warning from the Commerce Commission.
The warning relates to three loans given to bor-rowers between September and December 2015 by DFL’s agent Nigel Thompson Motor Company Limited (NTMC), now in liquidation.
“The lender responsibility principles require lenders to ensure that they make reason-able inquiries into whether a borrower can make loan repayments without suffer-ing substantial hardship. The commission’s concern is that DFL, through its agent NTMC, failed to do that,” says com-missioner Anna Rawlings.
June 12Dealership apologises for racist remarksFarmer Auto Village has been quick to act after two staff members were caught making racist comments about a Maori customer.
The two staff members accidently left a deroga-tory voicemail message on customer Narelle Newdick’s phone, Marae reports.
“Tell her don’t be a f***** clever Maori. Your little Maori girl… Go back to Maketu and dig pipis out of the sand,” they said on the voicemail.
Truckometer bounces backBoth the heavy and light traffic indexes have risen in the latest ANZ Truckometer results.
The heavy index rose 3% month-on-month in May, which saw annual growth recover from a softer patch in quarter one, while the light index bounced back 1.1% month-on-month.
“Looking through the monthly volatility, the six-month [heavy index] average shows the index appears to have stabilised after losing momentum over the first few months of 2018. With recent data suggesting some mild downside risk around our GDP pick of 0.6% q/q in Q1, stabilisation provides a bit of reassurance that growth isn’t about to roll over.”
June 13New RAM trucks range to grow dealer networkThe imminent arrival of RAM’s 1500 pick-up truck range will see its Australian and New Zealand dealership networks expand rapidly in the coming year.
Australian distributor Ateco Automotive has announced at the RAM Trucks launch in Sydney today that it will grow
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 45
DIARYTALK
Continued from page 44
Continued on page 46
When you are looking to recruit new senior staff you want the very best person available.The very best are probably not looking to change jobs and that’s where AutoTalk comes in.We reach pretty much near all the people in senior management in the auto sales industry – the people that you need to recruit. That’s why when Seek or Trade Me won’t cut it, more people advertise their senior recruitment with AutoTalk.
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from the current 33 dealers to 36 by the end of the financial year, and 40 by the end of 2018.
The additional RAM Trucks footprint will be inclusive of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Australia’s 17 franchised RAM dealer sites.
June 14Mercedes-Benz North Shore adopts new retail conceptMercedes-Benz North Shore is set to move to a larger Taka-puna showroom.
It will also be the first retailer in New Zealand to debut a new retail concept being rolled out globally by Mercedes-Benz.
The move will allow it to accommodate the growing Mercedes-Benz product port-folio – including passenger and light commercial vehicles, sports and luxury cars, and SUVs, along with various tech-nological innovations.
Fieldays impacts economy ‘significantly’Around $18 billion in revenue has been made throughout the history of the Mystery Creek Fieldays, an economic impact report says.
Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of Fieldays – the largest agricultural event of its kind in the Southern Hemi-sphere.
A University of Waikato study is highlighting the impact
the event has had on the New Zealand economy since first kicking off at Hamilton’s Te Rapa Racecourse in 1969.
June 15Giltrap Group partners with KartSport NZUp-and-coming KartSport drivers will enjoy the support of the Giltrap Group thanks to a new sponsorship deal.
Giltrap Group is join-ing Dunlop New Zealand and Carter’s Tyre Service as founding members of a select “Paddock Club” to help Kart-Sport New Zealand nurture and support the next genera-tion of champions.
The Giltrap Group will sup-ply KartSport with two Holden Colorados, which will be used to support the more than 200 KartSport events staged annu-ally in New Zealand.
Motorweb includes Takata recall informationMotorweb has started includ-ing an alert in its vehicle infor-mation reports to let dealers know if a vehicle is affected by the Takata airbag recall.
While compulsory recall data isn’t available from all manufacturers yet, Motorweb and its parent company Trade Me are working closely with NZTA so its reports reflect updates as they occur, Trade Me head of motors Alan Clark says.
“We know that the Takata airbag recall has caused
vehicle traders some serious headaches and we want to help change that.”
June 18New MD for BridgestoneBridgestone Australia and New Zealand managing director Andrew Moffatt is set to retire.
He will leave the post in September, with Stephen Roche named as his succes-sor.
Moffatt’s retirement will bring to a close a 25-year ten-ure with the tyre brand after joining the company in July 1993 as national finance and operations manager.
June 19Audi boss detained over dieselgate scandalGerman authorities have detained Audi chief executive Rupert Stadler in connec-tion with the diesel emissions scandal.
A Volkswagen spokesman confirmed to the BBC that Stadler is being held.
Munich prosecutors are reportedly worried that Stadler might hide evidence and were set to question him on Thursday.
Geneva Finance boosts profitAutomotive lender Geneva Finance has posted a solid after-tax profit of $6.1m.
That’s an increase of 19%
on the same period last year, with revenue from ordinary activities up 23%.
Managing director David O’Connell says a combination of operational changes and acquisitions has positioned each of the business segments to build for the future.
June 20Fuel tax on the table for 14 councilsA number of local councils around the country are con-sidering a regional fuel tax.
It follows a series of Of-ficial Information Act re-quests by Newshub where 14 councils admitted they were thinking of implementing such a policy.
The fuel tax has become an option as a result of the Land Transport Management (Re-gional Fuel Tax) Amendment Bill, which was introduced to Parliament by transport minis-ter Phil Twyford in March.
MTA expresses concerns over changes to vehicle glass coverThe Motor Trade Association is warning there could be more unroadworthy cars in the fleet if all insurance companies start charging the policy excess for windscreen replacements.
Vero has been the first to make the change, while IAG wouldn’t comment to AutoTalk and AA Insurance isn’t planning any changes at this stage.
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DIARYTALK
AussieTalk Diary AutoTalk Australia’s editor Scott Murray looks at the month gone by on autotalk.com.au
Continued from page 45
MTA chief executive Craig Pomare says it is expected more insurance companies will follow Vero’s lead.
June 21Volvo pushes on with move to phase out dieselVolvo is set to release its first vehicle without a diesel option.
The new S60 mid-size pre-mium sports sedan has been revealed at the company’s first US manufacturing plant in Charleston, South Carolina.
It was combined with the official factory opening.
Toyota NZ boosts annual salesToyota New Zealand’s annual revenue is the highest it’s ever been, but the company’s profit remains very similar to last year.
Revenue lifted to $1.4
billion from $1.2 billion the previous year, while Toyota’s profit rose to $21.9 million from $21.7 million, its annual report reveals.
Toyota also sold its highest ever number of new and used vehicles, reaching 42,581.
Infiniti Auckland opens in GreenlaneJapanese drums marked the official opening of the Infiniti Auckland dealership on Green-lane’s Great South Road last night.
As part of a Japanese theme to the night, Tamashii Taiko Drummers entertained guests, who were served Jap-anese-inspired food by Kiwi chef Nick Watt – who devel-oped the on-site kitchen.
After speeches from Infiniti Auckland sales manager Rich-ard Couch and Global Motors/Infinity NZ general manager Henry Belt, Consul General of Japan in Auckland Minoru
Kikuchi cut the ribbon to open the facility.
June 22UDC increases half-year profitFinance company UDC has boosted its half-year after tax profit by 8% to $32.7 million.
Revenue is also up 10% to $66.3 million, while total lending is up to $3.07 billion.
UDC chief executive Wayne Percival says the results reflect an improving economy, buoy-ant motor vehicle sector and people investing in plant and machinery.
Nissan Leaf 30kWh checks continueFlip the Fleet and electrical engineer Walter Larason of EVs Enhanced have responded to AutoTalk’s story about a software upgrade being issued
for the Nissan Leaf 30kWh.Nissan says the update will
“fix the 2016 and 2017 Nissan Leaf 30kWh battery control-ler’s inaccurate calculations of state of health (SoH) and range”.
But Henrik Moller of Flip the Fleet says “there is as yet insufficient information avail-able to form any reliable scien-tific conclusion about whether Nissan’s instrumentation error is a sufficient explana-tion for the observed declines in reported battery health of 30kWh Leafs”.
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June 1 Canstar pins five-star rating on Shell CardCanstar Blue has awarded Shell Card a five-star custom-er satisfaction rating.
Shell Card takes the “most satisfied customers” award in the “small business fuel cards 2018” category of consumer advocate Canstar Blue’s research comparison.
June 5 Trump to ban German cars from US? American president Donald Trump is reportedly looking at banning sales of German cars in the United States.
German magazine
WirtschaftsWoche quotes unnamed diplomatic sources as saying Trump told French president Emmanuel Macron he would maintain his trade policy “until no Mercedes models rolled on Fifth Av-enue in New York”.
June 6 New managing director for Holden New Zealand Former Holden New Zealand managing director Kristian Aquilina’s shift to Australia has seen him permanently relinquish his responsibilities in the Kiwi market.
His replacement is Marc Ebolo, who while based in Australia, has undertaken a range of international post-ings for General Motors.
June 12 JLR to remove Takata airbags from spare parts market Jaguar Land Rover Australia (JLRA) has revealed its plan to recover Takata airbags from auto recyclers.
It has joined forces with All Auto Recalls to retrieve the faulty parts.
June 18 Regulator bars Queensland broker Cairns used car finance bro-ker Colin Hulbert has been permanently banned from all credit activity.
The former sole director of Channic, Cash Brokers Pty Ltd and Ang Hulbert & Associ-ates has been banned from conducting any financing and credit by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
June 19 Norton crowned top Ford dealer Norton Motor Group has been awarded the master dealer of the year title by Ford Australia.
The Norton Group’s south-east Victoria dealer-ships include Ford in War-rnambool, Horsham and Stawell, with Isuzu Ute and Fiat Chrysler in Horsh-am, plus Coast Honda, Hyun-dai and Volkswagen in War-rnambool.
June 21 Genesis may have own showrooms Hyundai’s luxury brand Gen-esis could open its own city showrooms instead of using dealers.
Genesis is expected to be launched in Australia through two company-owned stores in Sydney and Melbourne from about October or November.
AUTOTALK JULY 2018 | www.autotalk.co.nz | 47
DIARYTALK
TransportTalk DiaryTransportTalk New Zealand editor Nigel Moffiet looks at the month gone by on www.transporttalk.co.nz
EVTalk Diary EVtalk New Zealand editor Geoff Dobson looks at the month gone by on www.evtalk.co.nz
June 1Clive Jones farewells MTD TrucksClive Jones has been ap-pointed to the role of vice-president sales for Volvo Trucks Australia, New Zealand and Oceania.
He starts the Brisbane-based position in August and replaces Mitch Peden who moves to the role of manag-ing director Volvo Malaysia.
June 5Train trip marks opening of Napier to Wairoa lineTrains are set for action on the Napier to Wairoa line for the
first time in six years.KiwiRail chief executive
Peter Reidy says a “significant milestone” will be marked on Wednesday as a train travels up to Eskdale from Napier delivering ballast.
June 11 Transmission Gully hits major milestoneThe Transmission Gully mo-torway project is now past the halfway mark and on track for its 2020 opening.
Project director Boyd Knights says earthworks have progressed well with good weather over the summer pe-riod and a strong workforce of up to 950 people.
June 18Daimler recalling 774,000 vehiclesDaimler has been ordered by the German transport ministry to recall hundreds of thousands of vehicles.
According to Reuters, Daimler has been told 774,000 Mercedes-Benzes contained emissions-de-feating software devices in European diesel-powered vehicles.
June 22Last stop for ManaBus and Naked BusBudget bus operations Mana-Bus and Naked Bus are set to close in mid-July, according to the company websites.
Up to 50 jobs are on the line as a result, the NZ Her-ald reports.
June 20 Polytechs tackle driver shortage A commercial road transport (CRT) programme is attract-ing good interest, includ-ing an increase in female students.
Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) is provid-ing the course for the first time which aims to get more people with class 4 licenses in response to driver short-ages in the industry.
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June 12New BMW i8 Roadster and Coupe herePricing and specs have been announced for the new plug-in hybrid BMW i8 Roadster and i8 Coupe arriving in New Zea-land showrooms this month.
The Coupe is $286,200 and the Roadster $309,900.
June 13More money for EV innovatorsAn extra million dollars is now available for EV funding in New Zealand during the next year.
That makes $7 million available for EECA’s low emis-
sion vehicles contestable fund for rounds five and six.
June 15Kiwi electric motorbike wins international awardUBCO has received the Inter-national Innovation Award for its two-wheel drive electric utility vehicle.
Agriculture minister Damien O’Connor presented the honour at Fieldays.
June 18Kiwi AV company signs US$20m China dealA US$20 million investment
agreement has been reached between Auckland-based HMI Technologies/Ohmio and Heshan city in China.
The deal allows an Ohmio AV plant in Heshan.
June 20Christchurch Airport moves towards all-electric fleetChristchurch Airport has signed up to global initiative EV100, transitioning its vehi-cle fleet to 100% electric.
Airport chief executive Malcolm Johns is challeng-ing other businesses to do likewise.
Electric Merc due here 2019Mercedes-Benz New Zealand confirms it could have the all-electric EQC SUV here in late 2019.
Production is expected to start next year.
June 22Nissan Leaf 30kWh checks continueFlip the Fleet and electrical engineer Walter Larason of EVs Enhanced have respond-ed to Nissan saying a soft-ware update will “fix the 2016 and 2017 Nissan Leaf 30kWh battery controller’s inaccurate calculations’ state of health (SoH) and range”.
Henrik Moller of Flip the Fleet says “there is as yet insufficient information available to form any reliable scientific conclusion about whether Nissan’s instrumen-tation error is a sufficient explanation for the observed declines in reported battery health of 30kWh Leafs”.
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