About Us

Motor Industry Association: Who Are We?

The Motor Industry Association of New Zealand Inc, (MIA) represents the official importers and distributors of new cars, trucks and motorcycles to New Zealand.

We are the voice of the new vehicle industry, set up to provide a unified point of view and drive progress on issues that concern the sector - such as vehicle safety, emissions, fuel economy, consumer standards, industry training and codes of practice.

The MIA is currently made up of some 41 members covering 78 marques (brands) over three vehicle classes (light automotive, heavy automotive and motorcycles) and is recognised as the voice of the new vehicle industry by a wide range of Government, trade and consumer bodies.

History of MIA

The Association was formed in 1996, bringing together AMIDNZ, the new vehicle importers association, with the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association, the association of assemblers of completely knocked down (CKD) vehicles. In January 2007 the Motor Industry Association amalgamated with the Motorcycle Distributors Association.

The Association is an Incorporated Society which is governed by a Council, plus two specialist groups; a Heavy Vehicle Group and a Motorcycle Group. Each member of the Association is represented by their Chief Executive Officer or permanent New Zealand representative. The Chairs of the Heavy Vehicle and Motorcycle Committees are also appointed to Council.

Governance

The Council meets about 4 times a year. All Council meetings are held in Auckland.

The current President of the MIA, elected in March 2022, is Mr Simon Rutherford, Managing Director, Ford Motor Company of New Zealand Limited

There are two vice presidents, with one incumbant below, elected in March 2022 and the other vacant and will be elected in March 2023.

Neeraj Lala is the Chief Executive Officer for Toyota New Zealand Ltd

The Chair of the MIA Heavy Vehicle Group is Maarten Durent (above), Chief Executive Officer of Southpac Trucks.

The Chair of the MIA Motorcycle Group is Simon Meade, GM of Motorcycle / ATV / Marine Marketing, Suzuki NZ.

The Chief Executive Officer, MIA Secretary and Treasurer is David Crawford (above).

Management

The Association's office is located in Lower Hutt and administers the day to day operations of the organisation.

David Crawford was appointed CEO of the MIA in February 2013 following more than 20 years in Government, holding senior management positions in several Government departments, including the Ministry of Transport. In that role he was General Manager Land Transport Safety.

He is supported by Mark Stockdale who is the Principal Technical Adviser.

To contact the office for queries please email us atinfo@mia.org.nz

Membership

Any official representative (Distributor) of a new vehicle manufacture may join the MIA. Members meet regularly, usually in Auckland, to discuss issues concerning the industry and map out our responses. There are 3 main membership groups: light vehicles (less than 3500kgs GVM), heavy trucks (greater than 3500kgs GVM) and motorcycles (both on-road and off-road motorcycles including all terrain vehicles,often referred to as quad bikes and light utility vehicles).

Light Vehicle Membership (passenger cars, SUVs and light commercial vehicles)

 

Heavy Vehicle Committee Membership (large motorhomes, trucks and buses)

 
 

Motorcycle Committee Membership (on-road and off-road motorbikes, ATVs and light utility vehicles)

Our Work

The Association is actively involved in a wide range of industry issues and operates several committees that deal with sector specific interests including vehicle safety and design, heavy vehicles, vehicle registration and motorcycles. 

Apart from some heavy vehicles and small numbers of specialised vehicles, new vehicles are not manufactured in New Zealand.  Our market is small, and Distributors supply new vehicles that meet Government Transport Rules.  When developing new Rules, the MIA advocates Government take in account the following key principles:

  • Work towards Rule harmonisation with our source markets, avoid unique country Rules, standardise with key (source) market regimes, and align introduction of new standards with our key source markets,
  • Allow adequate lead times for phase in of new standards, particularly where it requires significant development which may require several years to design, test and comply to international standards, and
  • Avoid situations where individual manufacturers/distributors use Rules to gain a market advantage.

Relationship with Government

The work is frequently focused on responding to, and making representations to, government agencies with which the sector works. These include:

  • Ministry of Transport
  • NZ Transport Agency
  • Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority
  • Ministry of Consumer Affairs
  • Commerce Commission
  • Accident Compensation Corporation
  • WorkSafe NZ
  • Ministry for the Environment
  • Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
  • Ministry for Primary Industries

 Motor Vehicle Dealers in NZ

The official distributor of new motor vehicles to New Zealand sell their vehicles through an approved dealer network throughout the country. A current list of approved dealers for each marque is available from the official distributor.