The trusted voice of the auto industry for more than 25 years www.autofile.co.nz
Issue 14-2015 7 August 2015
Used industry to lead sales of electric cars
In this issue
wo automotive organisations are working together to increase the supply and sale of electric vehicles (EVs) in New Zealand. The Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (IMVIA) and Drive Electric are teaming up to establish and promote a reliable supply chain for used EVs from overseas with fleet buyers in mind. The heads of agreement comes at a time when registered motor-vehicle traders are reporting greater success in selling these cars to members of the public.
p16 Scale of sector in Japan
T
Both organisations believe fleet buyers may be tempted to enter the used EV arena if more stock can be accessed at the right price. David Vinsen, chief executive of the IMVIA, believes the used import market can provide these vehicles at prices that appeal to them. “The reason we think used electric cars can lead the charge in New Zealand is because we can take advantage of other jurisdictions’ pricing, depreciations and incentive regimes,” he told Autofile. “We are going to be able to introduce them into this country at
price points, or within a price band, attractive to New Zealanders. We need to take that into account, as well as EVs’ reduced running costs.” Vinsen says another reason used EVs can make in-roads in this country is that demand for new ones from fleets may be affected because of their costs, which in turn may limit their commercial viability. He adds this is why the IMVIA and Drive Electric are looking to used importers and dealers to help implement an agreement between the two organisations. “We are trying to put into
p7 Obituary: Sir John Todd p10 Spotlight on Kia’s boss p13 IMVIA’s industry dinner p14 Honda sets new record p19 Limits to consumer law
Specialised training that’s proven to increase profits
[continued on page 4]
Businesses hit by email scams
M
embers of the automotive industry have been hit by scams that could have cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars. David Vinsen, chief executive of the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (IMVIA), says the organisation has received bogus emails trying to con it out of money.
Jacanna Customs & Freight has also been targeted by scammers and, as previously reported by Autofile, so has Autohub. The first bogus email received by the IMVIA came from what appeared to be an existing customer saying money was owed. It started “Dear Bev [Purchase]”, who is the office manager, and stated “your account remains
unpaid, please check the attached invoice”, which was in a zip file. “We know our actual customer doesn’t sell anything to us, so we didn’t open it after realising it was spam or worse,” Vinsen told Autofile. “It was clever because they used the name of a client of ours and also wrote to the right person.” The spamming then got worse.
Italians reignite passion for marque
[continued on page 8]
GLOBAL VEHICLE LOGISTICS NZ - JAPAN - AUSTRALIA - UK - EUROPE
p15