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Story: Cars and the motor industry

El Cheapo Cars

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El Cheapo Cars

El Cheapo Cars in Petone, Wellington, sells imported Japanese second-hand cars. Like many other car dealers it caters to demand for inexpensive vehicles. Over the 1980s and 1990s government protection of the New Zealand auto-assembly industry was reduced and restrictions on importing used cars were eased, resulting in a flood of used Japanese cars entering the market.

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acpalmer photography

by Andy Palmer

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How to cite this page

Eric Pawson, Cars and the motor industry – Demise of the car-assembly and component industries, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/22846/el-cheapo-cars (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Eric Pawson, published 2 March 2010, updated 1 December 2014.