Jul 03 2015
"The imported cars have never been registered in Japan or elsewhere before," Williams said.
In Japan the unused new car market was big because dealerships worked on a quota system, he said."The cars they can't sell, we will be able to import."2 Cheap Cars had established an extensive business relationship with Japanese suppliers, Williams said.
This could lead to tracing issues for recalls and a difficulty finding parts after a breakdown, he said.
"To claim they are new vehicles is mischievous and it's wrong to try to pass off a used car as new."However, 2 Cheap Cars chief executive Eugene Williams refuted Crawford's comments.
This helped secure an arrangement that would see popular models such as Toyota Corolla and Land Cruiser, Mazda 6, Honda Jazz, parallel imported and sold at a discount rates of between $5000 - $10,000 compared to similar vehicles sold by official dealerships.
The Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford said the industry was not against competition, but it was concerned consumers would be given incorrect information about the vehicles.
He was suspicious about how it was being done.He believed it was likely the cars were not new, but near new having been registered in Japan and then unregistered.The consumer needed to know a vehicle's full history and understand that its specifications were built for the Japanese market and not for export, Crawford said.
Specifications would be better than what was available in New Zealand, for example, most vehicles came with traction control, he said.He expected to open the first new car dealership in Auckland in the next few of months, followed by more nationwide.
The cars would be imported in bulk, but New Zealand customers could also place orders for new cars.2 Cheap Cars was targeting to win 10 per cent of the Japanese new car market in New Zealand within three years.
"We believe the time is right to expand our low margin – high volume approach into the new vehicle market," he said.
The cars would be imported in bulk, but New Zealand customers could also place orders for new cars.2 Cheap Cars was targeting to win 10 per cent of the Japanese new car market in New Zealand within three years.
"We believe the time is right to expand our low margin – high volume approach into the new vehicle market," he said.
New Zealand's biggest importer of used Japanese cars 2 Cheap Cars, plans to import new models of Toyota, Honda and Mazda vehicles later this year.The announcement has left New Zealand dealerships and the industry body scratching their heads wondering how it was possible.
New car manufacturers in the New Zealand market were greedy, he said."We see this as a major shake up for the new car industry in New Zealand which can only be good for the consumer. I would hope to see New Zealand prices drop."Williams said all the new vehicles would be covered by the manufacturers' factory warranty and if New Zealand dealers would not honour claims, 2 Cheap Cars would stand by the customer.
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* Honda NZ threatening legal action over 2 Cheap Cars Ad
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Toyota New Zealand advertises a Corolla GX hatchback for $27,390 on its website. Honda's website features the Jazz priced from $23,700.Parallel importing was not illegal but had not been done before with cars, he said.The scale of its used car buying operation in Japan allowed 2 Cheap Cars to reduce the costs of importing and also buy the new cars at cheaper rates, Williams said.
