Microdot identification for all imported cars to combat theft
4:20PM Thursday May 03, 2007
In future imported cars like these will carry the microdot. Photo / Greg Bowker
All new and used vehicles imported into New Zealand are to be microdotted with a unique number to help reduce vehicle thefts, the Government announced today.
Police Assistant Commissioner Grant Nicholls said the move would help reduce vehicle crime as stolen vehicles would be more easily traced.
Under the mandatory new identification system, called whole of vehicle marking, a unique 17-digit identification number will be assigned to each vehicle when imported.
The numbers, in the form of thousands of microdots, will be placed over various parts of the vehicle to make it more difficult to change the vehicle's identity. It will also make it easier to identify stolen vehicles and parts.
Justice Minister Mark Burton said it would apply to all light passenger vehicles with nine seats or fewer, which were less than 15 years old.
The Government expects the new system to come into effect in about a year. It will cost about $88 per vehicle to be microdotted with the cost initially worn by the importer and then passed on to the consumer.
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