Submissiontothe
2014ReviewofMotorVehicleStandardsAct1989
FrankstonToyotawelcomestheopportunity toprovideinputtotheAustralianGovernment's
MotorVehiclesStandardsAct(MVSA) review.
OperatingasaToyotadealership,weemploy150peopleandsellanaverageof4200cars peryear.Wealsoprovideverysignificant customersupportpostvehiclesaleincluding the provisionofpartsandservicing.
Sinceourestablishmentin1978wehaveinvestedsignificantlyindealershipinfrastructure, trainingofourpeopleandcommunity initiativesmakingourbusinessasignificanteconomic andsocialcontributortooursurroundingregion.
Theconsiderationoftheremovalofusedandparallelnewvehicleimportrestrictionsaspart oftheMotorVehicleStandards Actreviewisofgreatconcerntoourbusinessandone.that westronglyoppose.
Inparticular, whilewehavenodirectresponsibilitytowardssuchvehicles,manyinthe generalpublicwouldseeourbusinessasthepointofcontactforvehiclesupport.
Whilethesaleandaftersalessupportresponsibility mustresidewiththevehicleimporter,a dealer'sabilitytoofferaftersalessupportwouldbeenormously challenging,andcomes withadditionalcostanddelaytoconsumers including:
•Servicing-Ourtechnicians arenotfamiliarwithoverseasvehicleofferingswhich cancomewithdifferentspecification. Diagnosticinformationanduniquespecial toolsneededtoadequatelyservicevehiclesmaynotbereadilyavailable (plus ToyotaAustraliawillnothaveanyvehicleservicehistoryforoverseassourced models)
•Partssourcing-ToyotaAustraliadoesnotstockpartsofoverseasmodelswhich
canbedifferenttothemodelswepresentlymakeavailable. Thiswillgiverisetolong leadtimestosourcepartsinternationally fromthemarketwherethevehiclewas intendedtobesoldandsubsequentlygenerates additionalcostanddelaytothe customer(whiletheirvehicleisoff-road)
•Recalls-IfToyotaAustraliainitiatesavehiclerecall,theabilityforourbusiness to
supportownersofprivatelyimportedvehicles islimited. Theownerwouldneedto relyontheentitythatimportedsuchvehiclesormaketheirownarrangements(as theirvehiclewillnotbeshownonToyotaAustralia'srecords)
•Techniciantraining-Thecapabilitytoserviceandrepairthesevehiclesmaynot existwithinthedealershipthereforecompromising thecustomerexperience
•Cappedpriceservicing-Toyotapresentlyoffersourcustomerscappedprice servicing suchas5standard servicesfortheCamryat$130eachforthefirstfour yearsor75,000km. Usedcarsandparallelimportsdonothaveaccesstosuch offerings
•Warranty-customers mayexpectourbusiness tomeetwarrantyclaimsontheir
importedvehiclesdespitethefactthatwehavenolegalobligationtomeetthese claims
•Owner'smanual-Theprintedowner'smanual(ifsupplied)inthesevehicleswill mostlikelybeinthelanguageofvehicleorigintherebynotprovidingpotentialfuture owner'swithimportantvehicleoperationalinformationinEnglish
•Fitforpurpose vehicles-AsthesevehicleswerenotdesignedforAustralian conditions theusualexpectationsofdurabilityandreliabilitymaybecompromised resultinginapoorcustomer experience
Notonlywilltheabilitytosupportusedvehiclesandparallelnewvehiclesbe problematic,theincreasedlevelsofcompetitionthroughopeningupthemarketwill placeenormouspressure onourbusinessandpotentiallyputatriskjobswithinthe sector.Wealreadyoperateinahighlycompetitivemarketplace,withAustralia regardedasoneofthemostcompetitiveintheworldfornewvehiclesales.This resultsinexcellentconsumer choice,competitivepricesandveryhighlevelsof customerfocusbothintermsofvehiclessalesandaftersalessupport.
WeurgetheAustralianGovernment toconsider theimpactsofamendingrestrictions onusedcarimportsorallowingparallelnewimports,andtheimpactsthiswould
haveonestablishedandwellrespected businesssuchasmine.
HowardBould
GeneralManager
FrankstonToyota
1-4WellsRoad,frankston,Victori,1,3199,Australia
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