MOTOR VEHICLES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20235, 21 October 1927, Page 6

MOTOR VEHICLES.

5 NEW PROVISIONS IN BILL. j ' 1 MOTOR TRADE ASSOCIATION 1 SATISFIED. > I (Special to Daili Times.) I WELLINGTON, October 20. “ Our association has been pressing for I the past two years for the new provision in ■the Motor Vehicles Bill regarding motor ; dealers’ demonstration number plates and i fbr the withdrawal of the exemption from • the payment of the registration fees by > local bodies and Government departments, s and we sincerely hope that the Govern- ! ment will see that tne Bill goes through 1 without these provisions being amended in i any way," said Mr F. J. Cousins (secretary 1 of the Motor Trade Association of New Zealand) in an interview to-day. " The i suggestion that local bodies will have to , pay fees ranging from £2O to £75 on each of' their motor vehicles under the new - measure is a fallacy," continued Mr Cousins. “As a matter.of fact, all they i will be called on to pay will be the registration fee of between £2 and £3. There are now approximately 3500 motor vehicles in the Dominion which carry the E number plates which indicate that they are exempted from registration, and the return from these vehicles, supposing all are continued in service, will be .oughly only £7OOO to £BOOO. Of course, the local I bodies will have to pay the heavy traffic fees on any of their vehicles which are subject to this charge, but this is only a paper transaction since these fees are paid to the local bodies. Mr Cousins said that not only bad the dealers asked far greater latitude in the use of the demonstration plates, but they had nominated the fees now incorporated in the Bill as the price thev were willing to pay for the privilege. “ The restricted use of the demonstaration plates had been a source of great trouble and inconveni ence to the dealers,” said Mr Cousins, " and at our conference two years ago we decided to press for an amendment of the Act and adopted the scheme now under consideration- by Parliament. As the Act now stands the demonstration plate may be used only on cars for sale, and a recent decision by the Supreme Court in Auckland narrowed the privilege to the extent that the plate is to be Used only on the actual car that is being demonstrated to a prospective purchaser. This means that the trade has to modify the usual custom of using one car for demonstration purposes and selling. others of similar model from it. Moreover, the question is always arising, What is a demonstration? And on that subject there is room for many differences of opinion." Under the new proposals dealers would be able to use the demonstration numbers on any machine in stork and for any purpose in carrying on their business. The demonstration plates now in use totalled about 2000, and if the same number were taken out under the revised legislation the additional revenue, Mr Cousins estimated, would be approximately £3OOO. It was probable, however, that the return would be less, for with the greater freedom in the employment of the plates the dealers would roost likely find that they could do with a lesser number Mr Cousins also favourably commented on the clause in the Bill which frees service car proprietors from the present necessity of taking out licenses from all the local bodies through whose districts they ply for hire. "We know it was not intended that the charge should be made bv all local bodies, and the service car owners appreciate the action of the Government in taking advantage of the opportunity of removing this anomaly," Mr Cousins added. “ Especially do they appreciate the action of the Minister of Public Works (Mr K. S. Williams) in issuing some time ago his statement that it was intended to amend the Act in this re- , spect. thus saving them from being i troubled further pending the amending of the Act."