MOTOR IMPORTATIONS

Southland Times, Issue 20495, 25 May 1928, Page 11

MOTOR IMPORTATIONS

QUARTER'S STATISTICS. LARGE DECREASE SHOWN. TOTAL VALUE HALF-A-MILLION. AMERICAN TRADE MAINTAINED. Motor-vehicle imports into New' Zealand during the first quarter of 1928 had an aggregate dutiable value of only £521,263, a decrease of 23 j per cent, on the total for the January-March quarter of last year, and of 56| per cent, on the value in the corresponding period of the boom year of 1926. In comparison with the imports for the first quarter of 1927, an increase in the money sent out of the country for American vehicles is recorded. Nearly two-thirds of the £521,263 went for vehicles imported from the United States, while the falling-off in Canadian cars and commercial chassis was most marked. There was also less expenditure in British motors. hollowing are the dutiable values of cars, chassis and commercial vehicles of all classes 'imported during the first quarters of each

The values given are current domestic values in the country of origin, plus 10 per cent. Duties, dealers’ profits and assembling charges would have to be added to arrive at the Dominion’s actual outlay in retail purchases. An analysis of the £521,263 shows that £440,780 was for cars and car chassis, and £80,483 for buses, vans, trucks, and other commercial vehicles. On a numerical basis, ‘ American cars increased in number by nearly one-third compared with the total in the January-March quarter of 1927. In the aggregate, American passenger cars are nearly back to the position held in the record quarter of 1926, in spite of increases in duties since that period. The remarkable falling-off in Canadian cars is due largely to the fact that one large factory suspended operations last year to change over to a new model, which was put into production only a few weeks ago. Following are details of the number of cars and car chassis imported during the first quarters of the last three years:—

Of the 2861 cars and car chassis, 468 were imported through Auckland. The £80,483 for commercial vehicles accounted for a total of 368, as compared with 886 in the first quarter of last year. In only three cases were the commercial vehicles complete with bodies, the remainder being chassis for New Zealand bodies. Following are details of the commercial motors imported in the three periods:—

year:— 1927. 1928. £ £ United States .. 322,504 343,398 Great Britain 185,535 137,117 Canada .... 140,267 38,545 Italy .... 27,943 30 France .. 5,137 374 Belgium . 689 1,799 £682,075 £521,263

1926. 1927. 1928. United States .... .. 2,135 1,528 2,025 Great Britain 805 764 557 Canada .. 3,892 1,110 271 Italy 87 184 1 trance 33 22 2 Belgium 2 — 5 6,954 3,608 2,861

1926. 1927. 1928. United States 264 333 286 Great Britain 146 60 75 Canada 145 489 6 France 9 2 — Italy 4 — — Belgium 3 2 1 571 886 368