THE MOTOR CURVE

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 139, 16 June 1930, Page 10

THE MOTOR CURVE

HIGH LAST YEAR

ONE CAR TO TWO DWELLINGS

RURAL EATIOS BIG

On 28tli February last 152,609 motorcars and 31,928 commercial motor vehicles were registered in.New Zealand. According to "The- Motor Trade in New Zealand" (an annual review of the trade by the diaries Haines Advertising Agency, just issued) the numbers in active operation (after allowing for "dormant" registrations) are 141,385 cars and 127,750 commercial vehicles .as'at.2Bth. | February. A CAR TO NINE PEOPLE. " |In motor-cars, according'to the registration figmes as recorded in the various countries, the United States registers one car to every 4.9 people, Canada is second with'one to every. 9.1/ New Zealand third with ono to every f1.63. In Australia the averago falls to 13.2, in the United Kingdom to 34.3. Many makes of cars arc registered in New Zealand. The makes "substantially represented" number 42. Their prices lange from £189 to £1000. .•■.The 'number oi! registered motor-cays in New Zealand is more than half the number of dwellings. That is to say, if every registered car had a separate garage, there would be more than on» garage to every two dwellings. The figures given are 132,609 cars, 301,970 dwellings, or one car to every 1.98 dwellings. Taking the ten provinces. Southland, llawkes Bay, and Taranaki beat' the metropolitan provinces. lv. the ratio of cars to dwellings, Southland and Hawkcs Bay each show one to 1.63; Taranaki, one to 1.66. Compare these with Wellington (1.76) and Auckland (2.18). METROPOLITAN AND RURAL. Estimating ownership of cars per head of population, tlie three rural provinces again bent the metropolitan provinces. Southland has a car to every 7.C4 of population, Hawkcs Bay has one to every 7.77, Taranaki has one to every 8.24. Compare Wellington (8.81) and Auckland (11.03). Looking at car ownership from another angle, Southland, with 5 per cent, of New Zealand's population, has 6 per cent, of New Zealand's car registrations., and the same thing is true of Hawkes Bay and .Taranaki. AVellington has 20 per cent, of the population and 22 per cent, of car registrations. Auckland has 31 per cent, of the. people and 30 per cent, of the cars. The 1928-29 issue of this review anticipated that in 1929-30 car sales would'rise to 20,000. The- actual ?ales, according to the issue now under notice, realised 21,145 cars to 28th February. No estimate of sales "is offered for the current year 1930-31. • In the calendar year 1929, car sales in New Zealand rose to 2.1,405. Analysing these total sales, it is found that Auckland province easily leads, with17326 sales, greatly exceeding Wellington's 4670, Canterbury's 3008, and Otago's 1719. Auckland sales, increased by 40 per cent, over 1928, ■which year was (for Auckland) only 23 per .cent, over its predecessor. For 1929, the increase of sales over 1928 was 24 per cent, in Wellington, 21 per cent, in' Southland, 22 per cent. in. Hawkes Bay, and nearly 11 per cent, iu'' Taranaki. Taking all New Zealand, monthly sales in 1930 to end of April show declines compared with 1029. .Spring and summer months as a rule are this big sale months. But the June figure* jumped from 1053 iv 1928 to 1911 in 192!) —a figure hardly likely £o be repeated. CANADA'S GAINS. . -What countries arc supplying New Zealand with cars, and in what proportion? United States provided 56} per cent, of the cars in 1927, and in 1029 36§ per cent. But the United Kingdom did not gain much thereby, as tha United Kingdom supplied 19* per cent, of the cars in 1927 and somewhat less ■(17| per cent.) in 1929. The real gainer is Canada, jumping from 21$ per cent, in 1927 to 46 per cent, m 1929. On this the compiler of the. statistics comments: "For the first time since 1925 Canadian cars have gained the ascendancy over those of United Slatf's origin, which show a, substantial decrease. Though the United Kingdom percentage is somewhat lower, as shown above, yet the number of United Kingdom cars imported was substantially'greater, being 4060 iv 1929 and 2128" in 1927. The average value of cars at port of shipment has fallen over recent years; In 1925 the Canadian car averaged £171 and the U.S. car £180; their figures in 1929.'are respectively £126 and £161. In the same years the British car has falien, in average value (at port of shipment) from £286 to £172. The British car. is the only one showing a fall as compared with 1928 average values —"attributable, to a great extent,_to the large numbers of 'baby' cars imported in 1929." COMMERCIAL VEHICLES. Commercial vehicles are mostly; trucks. Trucks number 25,384. Nearly half (16,732) are one-ton trucks. There- are 304 five-tenners, 45 sixtonners, and 21 over six tons. In 1929 the average values at port of shipment were £319 for British, £153 for United States, and only £105 for Canadian. In 1924 New Zealand imported lobi motor bicycles from the United Kingdom and 930 from the United Statcsj in 1929 the United Kingdom .scufc 3277 and the United States sent 542. Thus the United Kingdom rules tins branch of tho market—though a tendency has been observed in Britain for the British 'baby' car to cut into tho molor-bicycle trade. Of oS,ola> motor-bicjelo registrations in iMew Zealand, it is estimated that 9526 are dormant and that 28,489 machines were in actual use at 28th February. Canterbury has no less than 1378 of the 3377 agricultural tractors in New Zealand. Southland has ,45!^ Wellington' 420, Auckland 352.