Value of vehicle imports up 28%

The value of imported vehicles, parts and accessories came in at $828 million in March, up $181m or 28 per cent from the same month a year ago, according to new figures from Stats NZ.

The jump helped increase the total value for all merchandise goods imports by 9.6 per cent year-on-year to $7.2 billion.

A further breakdown of the figures shows vehicles, parts and accessories were among the climbers for goods from the European Union and increased by $38m from a year ago.

The latest data also shows the automotive category recorded an increase in value for the three months ended March 2026, rising 17 per cent from the same period a year earlier to hit $1.9b.

The tally climbed by 9.5 per cent to $8.4b for the year to the end of March.

As for other commodities, petroleum products were among the big fallers last month after a $310m or 30 per cent decrease from a year ago to $724m.

Overall exports last month climbed $542m, or 7.3 per cent, to reach $7.9b. This meant the monthly trade balance was a surplus of $698m.

For the year to the end of March, goods imports were valued at $84.2b after a $4.1b increase from the previous year. Exports were up $7.1b to $81b to leave an annual trade deficit of $3.2b.

In the year ended August 2024, the total deficit was $6.3b.