State of origin: Your new ute comes from where?
Wednesday, 28 March 2018
You'd think a Japanese ute would come from Japan. A German ute from Germany. An Australian ute from Aussie.
But no.
A feature of the selection of one-tonne utes currently on sale in New Zealand is that hardly any of them are actually imported from the home country of their makers.
Where these utes are actually built is a classic example of how these days the world's motor industry is extremely international. That explains why the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace SUV is built in Mexico, the Toyota Highlander is built in USA, and the Holden Commodore is built in Germany.
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And it's why every one-tonne ute sold by a Japanese brand is actually built in Thailand, and why some of our Volkswagen Amarok utes are sourced from Argentina.
Chinese utes are still built in China however, Korean utes come from Korea, and US pickups continue to be sourced from USA - albeit through Australia where they are converted to right-hand drive.
Thailand is recognised as the powerhouse of the one-tonne ute. Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, Holden Colorado, Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara, Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 are all built there.
It all goes back to the 1960s when the Japanese manufacturers recognised that Thailand could not only offer cheap raw materials and labour, but also a stable government and good road and port facilities.
Thailand in turn saw the one-tonne ute as the ideal vehicle for its largely rural population and developing economy, and in an effort to encourage the Japanese manufacturers to produce their trucks there, it massively reduced excise taxes on domestic ute sales as well as offer tax holidays for the carmakers.
Things simply grew from there.
You only have to visit Thailand and spot the thousands of Songthaews - utes with huts on the back - carrying passengers here and there to realise how popular the one-tonne utes have become.
In fact Thailand is now the world's second-largest ute market after the United States.
Thailand's ute export industry grew as a result of the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s, when domestic sales collapsed which forced the car companies to turn their attention to export markets.
As a result of this crisis and further government support for the industry, the country is now the global hub for the production of one-tonne utes.
But not all New Zealand's utes come from Thailand.
A growing source of the one-tonne ute is China. LDV imports the new T60 ute from there, as does Great Wall with the Steed, and Foton with the Tunland.
While at present the sales of Chinese utes are measured in the hundreds per year rather than the thousands of sales enjoyed by the big hitters of the ute market, a combination of attractive prices and the fact they are now beginning to receive improved Ancap crash ratings means it is almost certain these sales will grow.
Korea is the home of the SsangYong Actyon Sports ute, which will soon be replaced by a brand-new model called the Musso. And while V6-engined versions of the Volkswagen Amarok are imported from Hanover in Germany, the four cylinder models are built in Argentina.
And what about Australia?
While Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon utes used to be built there, the closest the country gets to its 'own' ute now is the Ford Ranger which was designed and developed in Aussie, but actually built in Thailand.
Aussie also plays a role in preparing US-built Ram 2500 and 3500 and Chevrolet Silverado pickups for sale in New Zealand. That's where they are converted to right-hand drive.