Simon Rutherford: Auto Distributors NZ CEO on the new car brands entering the NZ market

New Zealand's electric car market is reaching a tipping point. 

Five new Chinese car brands have entered the market in the last two months – Dongfeng being the latest. 

Its launch lineup includes three fully electric models, and dealerships are set to open in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch later in the year.  

Auto Distributors NZ CEO Simon Rutherford told Mike Hosking the market has shifted over the last few years to be more accepting of EVs. 

He says people who are looking to buy a second car are increasingly more likely to consider buying electric, and even in the last year there’s been a shift of about 10% out of pure ICE vehicles into something electrified. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The car industry has got some life, some numbers for
you in a moment, sales up, new brands though opening
business here. We've got five new brands from China in
the last two months, Dong fing. They're the latest three
Bev's got the Box, got the Vega, got the Double.
Seven dealerships are going to be open in Auckland, Wellington,
christ Church later this year. So i'mon Rutherford's the boss
at auto Distributors in New Zealand and is with us.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning, Good morning to you, Mike. Thanks for having
me on the show.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Great pleasure. This has got to end in tears, doesn't it.
I mean, five new brands in two months. There's no
way we can sustain that many car brands, is there.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
I think there'll be a reshuffling of the pack. So
undoubtedly be a lot of turmoil in the industry, and
we're already experiencing that.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
What are the I mean, the logistics of opening your doors,
providing back up, servicing, warranties, people hiring all of that.
I mean, it's a big ask. It's not just a
matter of having a car and turning up, is it.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yes, we've been working on this for some time. So
obviously all those back end logistics systems training, you know,
just even configuring the show rooms and systems is all
working pay. So, you know, we're really excited about where
we are with that. We wouldn't have been committing to
an opening time in the fourth quarter unless we're already.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
Indeed, So, how does it work in terms of people
buying cars? Do we have any hard data in the
sense do I buy a car from a brand I've
never even heard of?

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah? I think that what we've seen is a recognition
that the you know, the Chinese market is hugely competitive.
Chinese consumers themselves are very very demanding, and you just
can't succeed. You know, I lived and worked in China
about ten years ago, and obviously I've been back on
recent trips and the transition is quite phenomenal where Chinese.

(01:44):
You know, Chinese consumers are recognizing that they have better
products and they'll choose what they want. So I think
that's probably my barometer of what's going on.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
Are they dumping now?

Speaker 2 (01:55):
I don't think there's there's dumping. There's certainly a strategy
to expand an export from purely domestic and we've seen
that start over probably the last ten years to different degrees.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
Are we going to see a price war here, the
sort of price war we're seeing in places like Europe.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
I think we're already seeing that to some degree, Mike.
It's extremely competitive out there. There's also other elements in,
you know, the kind of ecosystem around achieving CO two targets,
and we're actually a little bit behind where we need
to be on that. Yeah, you know as a country,
I'm sure you're well away for that.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Exactly are we going to test the market in terms
of see evs aren't that hot here and you've suddenly
got five brands, five more brands just selling evs. I mean,
that's really a test for the market and appetite.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Isn't it. Yes, I think it is. I think that
we're at this sort of there is a little bit
of a tipping point. If you'd asked me three to
four years ago, I would have said that, yeah, there
was a that wasn't an acceptance of evs at all.
But if you look at the market, it's already shifted
to a sort of state where people certainly is perhaps
the second car and the Garacter are very much willing

(03:08):
to consider an EV and even this year, although we
sort of don't talk about it too much, there has
still been a shift of about ten percent out of
pure ice into something electrified. So you know, the transition
was always going to take time. And the other thing
I think is worth mentioning is that you know, bands
like Dong Fung they're not just ev whilst we're bringing

(03:29):
three vs in initially, they're multi energy and they cater
to multiple segments of all.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
Right, Simon, appreciate your time. You have a good week
in Simon Rutherfood Auto Distributors. The commercial numbers for September here,
they're up fourteen and a half percent, thirty six hundred
and thirty seven new commercial sold Ford ranges back at
number one. For more from the mic Asking Breakfast listen
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