Giltrap warns on car import effect

Press, 18 February 1989, Page 19

Giltrap warns on car import effect

PA Auckland Up to 30,000 used cars are expected to be imported from Japan this year. — a move that could kill the New Zealand car assembly industry — according to a company that plans to become heavily involved in the importing. "I can’t understand why the Government has done this and I don’t believe it is in the consumer’s interest,” Giltrap Motor Group managing director, Mr Colin Giltrap, said. “This is a contradiction, but one has to join the throng.” Industry observers believe that between 17,000 and 21,000 used cars were imported last year. All restrictions on the entry of such vehicles were lifted on January 1. Mr Giltrap said he was surprised that labour unions had not protested strongly about the imported vehicles because of the effect on assembly line jobs. He estimates that 3000 used vehicles would ar-

rive in New Zealand next month and 30,000 by the year’s end. Other importers pick imports of about 25,000 this year with 30,000 saturating the market. Mr Giltrap says the imported cars are slightly cheaper for buyers than the local product, but they do not carry guarantees. He said he would prefer to buy a used car with a known New Zealand history. The Japanese cars looked good, he said, but some were bad. Mr Giltrap has two or three New Zealanders permanently in Japan arranging car purchases. He says he imports only three to four-year-old vehicles, any older being ready for the scrap heap. Giltrap buyers = chose only the models popular in New Zealand — Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Toyota, he said. For cars not popular here, there were often waits of up to four and five weeks for spare parts.