We New Zealanders drive from all over the world.
Brands from Japan, Korea, Australia and the United States are popular on our roads but that doesn’t mean those are the countries where the cars are built.
In January, the Gisborne Herald put together an interesting article about where New Zealand cars are built.
Here are some interesting stats from the article.
- The top country in which the cars are built and assembled is Thailand, overtaking Japan in 2016. They represent 28% of new vehicles in New Zealand.
- 32,511 vehicles on New Zealand roads were made in Japan.
- South Korean made vehicles (like Hyundai and Kia) represent 13.5% of the new car market in New Zealand, although some of these are made in the Czech Republic.
- The USA is the fastest growing new vehicle supplier to the New Zealand market.
- The Suzuki Vitara’s on New Zealand’s roads are mainly built in Hungary.
- France has fallen behind India, China, Spain, Hungary and the Czech Republic as a key vehicle supplier to New Zealand.