For many years the National Fieldays at Mystery Creek in Hamilton has been regarded as the de-facto New Zealand national motor show, with brands beginning their marketing campaigns around the event as early as April and finishing in August.
Fielday’s specials, particularly for utes, has been part of the landscape for decades but not this year as the disrupted supply chain has affected many brands.
Farmers looking for a new vehicle bargain this year will be disappointed, and if they want a specific ute in a specific colour, then they might face a delivery time of up to six months in some cases depending on the brand they choose.
The days of the massive Fielday’s discount on a new vehicle are gone.
Nissan New Zealand franchise development manager Brian Carr says the brand will be offering a complimentary three-year service package to new Navara buyers as part of its campaign offer.
He says that for many brands, the Fieldays is now treated as one of many regular marketing campaigns and he was surprised to see a few noticeable absences from Mystery Creek this year.
Regular brand attendees who are noticeably absent from the 2021 event are Toyota, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, and Skoda.
At the recent media launch of the Toyota Highlander, Toyota New Zealand chief executive Neeraj Lala was candid that the brand saw no point in going to the Fieldays as it already has more than 11,000 new vehicles on back order and is managing customer expectation accordingly.
Mitsubishi Motors head of marketing Reece Congdon told TransportTalk that current supply issues plus concerns around COVID-19 meant the company felt “it was a good year to sit it out.”
Hyundai New Zealand is a big sponsor of the event and has moved to a new site closer to the other car brands, while its sister company Isuzu Ute New Zealand remains in the same site and continues to offer a test track for punters to have an “off-road experience” in their 4×4 models.
Volkswagen New Zealand continues to hold the fort in Mystery Creek as does Ford New Zealand. GMSV is being represented by local Waikato dealer Ebbett Group, Great Lakes Motor Distributors has a presence for its Ssangyong and LDV brands, and the Chinese GWM and Haval brands are also at the event.
Ford New Zealand communications manager Tom Clancy says his brand has a good supply of Ranger utes, as it has managed to snaffle production from some other markets, but he warns that people who want a particular model in a particular colour may face a delivery period of up to four months.
Volkswagen NZ passenger car boss Greg Leet says it’s disappointing not to have any electrified vehicles at Mystery Creek following the Government’s feebate announcement as the factory are unable to supply then as yet. However, he notes that several petrol models within the passenger range will quality for a low emission rebate.
