Before Japan entered the Worldwide vehicle market, Australia and New Zealand had little alternative other than import trucks from Europe (predominantly UK) or the United States (of America).
The cost of transporting these across the Oceans was unavoidable.
How many manufacturers have established production facilities in Australia (or New Zealand)? Are these merely assembly plants using imported parts - indeed are they
Completely
Knocked
Down (CKD) kits - where sets of containers containing partly-assembled vehicles are shipped - typically ready-made chassis and cabs or maybe pressed panels?
Are they importing supplies of 'components' (such as fully-built gearboxes and axles) - or are they fully manufacturing parts such as gears and building 'from scratch'?
Exactly what is the extent of the commercial vehicle (truck
and bus) industry?
Are the major manufacturers merely building the same models that they supply for their home markets? Are there (still) any Australian/NZ brands?
What penetration have Japanese manufacturers achieved? What about other makes such as Russian or Chinese (we have already seen a Scania lookalike from China in NZ on this board).
http://wantruck.en.made-in-china.com...nia-Face-.html
Don't forget the buses and coaches . . .