Motor Vehicle Industry Media Release

Written by PASS Media Release
Thursday, 13 December 2007
MOTOR VEHICLE INDUSTRY MEDIA RELEASE The proposed change from LHD to RHD has already affected the MV industry, new car and used car sales have come to a standstill. The uncertainty of whether or not we are going to change the side of the road we drive on and when, has forced people to refrain from buying cars as the possibility of losing large sums of money and paying increased insurance premiums is a frightening thought. The used car market is on it’s way to being plentiful and large enough to cater for Samoa and it’s requirements. 10 years ago the average sales of new cars was about 200 per year therefore after three to 5 years there are 200 cars rolling into the used car market annually. With the introduction of other car dealers, the sales of new cars has increase drastically with nearly 1000 cars being purchased annually which means in 3 – to 5 years time there will be hundreds of cars flooding the used car market and these will be cheap and accessible. They will also have been bought locally therefore parts and service items are readily available. As most new cars owners regularly service their vehicles, the quality of these used cars will be better minimizing pollution, costs, and increasing road safety. Cars from NZ are not as cheap as they are thought to be. If a survey of vehicles in NZ has shown that the average price for an 8 year old car is NZD$10,000, if you add the freight of NZD$3583.30 and duty of 20% + GST and convert at the current rate of 2.03, the final cost of this car will be SAT$38,000 and that is for a cheaper 8 year old sedan – good luck if you want some thing of better quality because you might as well buy it here in Samoa. The rental car industry will be the worst affected because it is pretty obvious that if you don’t want to drive on the wrong side of the road then I don’t think tourists unfamiliar with our roads and totally confused by driving a LHD car on the wrong side of the road would be too keen to rent a car and put their lives are risk??? Therefore the rental car industry would have to change to RHD at a cost that is either unaffordable or crippling to their business. There are approx 600 rental cars in Samoa with a rough value of 24 million. If rental companies write off 24 million, that’s a lot of tax that is not going to be paid for years to come. Secondly, to replenish the rental car industry with RHD at current market prices and for those that can afford to plummet themselves in to the depths of debt all over again – this is going to cost 30 million – where is this money going to come from??? The taxis and their families who are reliant on the income generated from such a business will be at risk also – with increasing insurance premiums and banks breathing down their necks because the value of their taxis will drop 75% - rising fuel costs, maintenance, registration and fees – what little money is left to survive on after that – not to mention the 44% increase in the risk of an accident and taxi’s being on the road all day everyday means more bumps and scrapes – whose going to pay for all those cracked headlights and dented doors??? Bus drivers are going to need some stress counseling when they drop people off onto the middle of the road and watch as yet another near miss flashes by. It has been said that buses can change the side where the passengers get of the buses but can they change the side of the road the driver sits on? Bus drivers and their passengers will be at risk as long as the bus is a LHD bus. We have all seen how buses overtake and race each other into town – quite a lot more risky when you can’t see the oncoming traffic!!! There are those buses that can change their entry/exit doors and there are those that can’t. Readymade buses are going to be a serious safety concern and how long before they are banned from our roads??? What then? Those buses aren’t cheap and disposable – how are those bus owners going to recover. It has been mentioned that people would buy RHD’s when this law is becomes effective for the benefit of their families safety. If this happens the market will not only be flooded with ex-rentals but also with personal vehicles, all being sold cheaply as it will be a buyers market. Why bother the relatives with the expense of sending a new car from NZ when it would be much cheaper to buy a LHD locally? This would put all those wanting a car in a USED LHD from SAMOA and one has to ask……the point of all this is??? Comments (2) Subscribe to this comment's feed left hand drive or right hand drive written by Pj, January 31, 2008 The prime minister says also that American vehicles that people are bringing in to Samoa are too big and gas guzzlers, well im sure hes not driving around or being driven around in a Toyota corolla. The reasons his government is giving to justify the change is crazy. Japanese vehicles the like of Toyota Land Cruiser , Nissan Patrol are no bigger than a Ford Explorer or Dodge Ram, they are all gas guzzlers.If you bring in big vehicles they should be charging loads of rego fees to make people think twice about getting in a big vehicle.Maybe our PM Has a hand or share in companies planning to bring vehicles into Samoa from japan who know as his reasons are crazy. He has no worries cause us the taxpayer will be paying for his flash car be it lhd or rhd, and he and his mps wont be seen in Toyota Corrolla thats for sure. Male Faa'aoloalo lava! ose filifiliga pitoi sili on dam or valea lea filifiliga written by Ioane, September 03, 2008 O tavale Amerika o ni tavale e sili on safety i le lalolagi, toititi lava atoa le 100 o tausaga i samoao, o le tele o tagata feoti ma manunua i samoa sei tulou lava, o tavale mai sapani, Kolea saina. Lau susuga a le palemia e iai is auala e sili atu nai lou sasaina o ou lava tagata. oute lagona lava ua e faataua lou atonu'u e saili ai nisi latou te puipuia oe ina ne'i mea ane ua faoa lou tulaga palemia, ua sa'o ai le upu ua e faapili le namu ae folo le kaela . Ua ou le toe vai maualuga ia oe ua uma lo'u faamoemoe ae maise ai le atonu'u atonu'u ia oe. Write comment Name Email Title Comment
Last Updated ( Friday, 14 December 2007 )

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