Imports of vehicles, parts and accessories (including tractors, light and heavy commercials) rose 4.6% in value year on year by $27m from $580m in May 2015 to $607m in May 2016 according to new data published by Statistics New Zealand.
In the three months ended May 2016, the value of imported vehicles, parts and accessories rose 2.9% from $1.818bn in the previous corresponding period to $1.871bn for this period.
Goods imports rose $229 million (5.7%) in May 2016 to $4.2 billion, led by an increase in imports of consumer goods, up $152 million (16%), says Statistics New Zealand.
Capital goods (including aircraft) were up $138 million. Intermediate goods (including parts of transport equipment) were up $105 million excluding crude oil, as imports of that good fell $84 million due to lower prices.
The total number of imported new and used cars and station wagons increased from a monthly number of 19,258 units (6843 new, 12,415 used) in May 2015 to 20,069 (7502 new, 12,567 used) in May 2016.
In the three months to May 16, the number of new and used cars and station wagons increased by 3% to 59,343 (22,483 new, 36,860 used) from 57,057 (21,291 new, 35,766 used) in the previous corresponding period.
