No car-sales drop expected

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34047, 10 January 1976, Page 1

No car-sales drop expected

Christchurch new-car dealers will find it harder to sell this year, but they expect the market to be relatively steady, despite high car and petrol prices. The full effects of devaluation are being felt now, but one dealer said that many people had learned to live with price rises. Even though there were sudden booms in sales before price rises — with a downturn just after the increases — the market still came back to an even keel. Leasing of cars by companies could become more prominent, however, because of the high prices. Some dealers were short of stock during the holiday period because assembly plants were closed, but some waiting lists for cars are not as long as usual. The new Government

might exercise more import control on cars, thus reducing the supply, but the Government would have to be mindful of the effect on jobs at assembly plants. Small-car dealers reported no slackening in their market, as some people switched from large to small cars.