- Toyota New Zealand
Toyota New Zealand is the importer and distributor of new
Toyota andDaihatsu vehicles inNew Zealand . It also imports used vehicles fromJapan , and refurbishes them at its plant in Thames. Until 1998 it also assembled a variety of vehicles.Local Manufacturing
Toyota assembled a variety of vehicles in New Zealand from the 1960s through to late 1998.Complete knock down (CKD) kits were brought in from Japan and assembled in plants located in Thames andChristchurch . Locally produced components were also used, and included items such astyres , seats, trims, andglass . Vehicles that were locally produced were Corolla,Corona ,Celica , Hilux, and Hi-ace.However, during 1998 the New Zealand Government decided that tariffs on imported cars would be abolished. This led to the remaining four local assemblers (
Toyota ,Honda ,Nissan , andMitsubishi ) to announce that they would be ceasing local production during and would concentrate on importing instead. Toyota decided that it would turn its sole remaining plant at Thames into a refurbishment centre for the resale of used imports from Japan.
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