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Story: Cars and the motor industry

Sources of cars, 1914–1968

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The source countries of imported cars have varied over time, whether they arrived ready to drive or unassembled. Canada and the US were the major sources until the 1930s. British cars then dominated until the 1960s. With imports from Commonwealth countries receiving preferential treatment, Australia emerged as another important source in the 1960s.

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Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: T. T. N. Coleridge, Our motoring heritage. Wellington: T. T. N. Coleridge, 1973, p. 36

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How to cite this page

Eric Pawson, Cars and the motor industry – Sources of cars, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/graph/22837/sources-of-cars-1914-1968 (accessed 4 June 2026).

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