Erection of car plant ‘unlikely’

Press, 19 December 1985, Page 44

Erection of car plant ‘unlikely’

PA ' Hamilton A $lO million car assembly plant which could have created 400 jobs probably will never be built because of Government plans to lift import controls, says the chairman of Daihatsu N.Z., Ltd, Mr Grahame Turner. The new economic climate of less protection for the assembly industry made it very unlikely that the Te Awamutu plant would be built, Mr Turner said. He said that he was sorry for the people of Waikato who had expected the company to carry through with the plant. Daihatsu has spent $750,000 on development of the site. The change by Daihatsu centres on a review within the next three years of tariffs for overseas and locally assembled vehicles. Built cars attract a 55 per cent tariff and unassembled parts, 15 per cent. But after the review that could change, altering the economics of running the plant, Mr Turner said. The new plant would have assembled the Daihatsu Charade model.