Govt will not proceed with vehicle marking regime

The government has decided that it will not proceed with the Whole of Vehicle Marking (WOVM) scheme introduced by the previous government.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce says the potential benefits of the scheme would be significantly outweighed by the cost to motorists.

WOVM involves the application of the vehicle's identification number across much of a car, using micro-dotting technology.

If New Zealand introduced the scheme it would be the only country in the world to have a mandatory whole of vehicle marking scheme, even though there is no domestic manufacturing industry.

"It is far more cost efficient to add security features at the point of manufacture, rather than as part of the importing process," says Mr Joyce.

The majority of vehicles now come fitted with immobilising technology, which prevents a car running unless the correct key is present, and as a result the number of car thefts has dropped substantially.

The government is also considering a new Land Transport Rule that would require new and recently manufactured imported cars to be fitted with an engine immobiliser before they can enter the vehicle fleet.

There is no evidence to prove that requiring vehicle marking would improve the results already achieved by immobilisers.

Mr Joyce says the government is very mindful of imposing additional costs on consumers in these tough economic times and this one doesn't make the grade.