New Zealand Government Confirms Mandatory Whole-of-Vehicle-Marking Policy Using Microdots

The New Zealand Government announced yesterday that whole-of-vehicle-marking (WOVM) using microdots will be mandatory for all newly imported vehicles that are under 15 years old and are light-passenger vehicles with nine seats or less. This is approximately 200,000 vehicles a year.

This announcement confirms the earlier policy decision of January 2005 in the light of cost-benefit calculations recently completed by the Ministry of Justice, Land Transport New Zealand, New Zealand Police and Ministry of Transport.

The announcement further confirms that the mandatory WOVM policy will now proceed immediately to the implementation phase.

The Government expects that mandatory WOVM will commence in the first half of 2008, the exact date to be determined by the Director of Land Transport. Before commencement, but after publication in the Gazette of the final WOVM rules and procedures, a period of six months will be allowed for the market to become familiar with the prescribed requirements.

Mr Ian Allen, CEO of DataDot Technology Ltd, said, "We are very pleased but not at all surprised that the New Zealand Government's cost-benefit analysis of mandatory WOVM has confirmed its earlier policy decision. DataDot Technology has already ear-marked capital to develop manufacturing facilities to meet the demand created by mandatory WOVM in New Zealand. We can now proceed with our plans to invest this capital, confident that mandatory WOVM will proceed at a not-too-distant commencement date."

The full text of the New Zealand Government announcement follows:

New scheme aims to counter vehicle thefts

The Government is introducing a mandatory new identification system for all new and used vehicles imported into the country in an attempt to reduce vehicle thefts and to catch criminals who steal cars, Police Minister Annette King and Justice Minister Mark Burton announced today.

Called whole of vehicle marking (WOVM), the system assigns a unique 17 digit vehicle identification number to each vehicle upon importation into New Zealand. These numbers, in the form of microdots, are placed on overt and covert parts of the vehicle to make it more difficult to alter the vehicle's identity, and to make it easier to recognise and identify stolen vehicles and parts.

Mark Burton says the new initiative is part of the Ministry of Justice created vehicle crime reduction programme. It will apply to all light-passenger vehicles with nine seats or less and under 15 years old.

It is anticipated that the new system will come into effect in about a year, and from then on it is expected that about 200,000 vehicles a year will be required to have WOVM applied before they can be registered and sold. The existing vehicle fleet will not be required to have WOVM applied.

Annette King says the new scheme will speed up police investigations into vehicle theft. "It will also disrupt organised crime networks as the sale of stolen vehicles and their parts are a major way of funding such networks. It will also make it easier to solve other crimes, such as identifying vehicles involved in hit and run incidents when a part is left behind at the scene".

Ms King says stolen vehicles are often involved in dangerous police pursuits and any reduction in the number of stolen vehicles on the road should also make roads safer. "Sometimes we also have a situation where vehicles are partly rebuilt using stolen parts and this can impact on the safety of the vehicle."

Mr Burton says WOVM will result in court cases against those charged with vehicle thefts being resolved more quickly because of the standard of evidence that the new scheme offers. "It can be a time consuming and costly exercise now to bring evidence before the court and WOVM will speed up the process."

Before the new scheme comes into effect a number of changes to the new and used vehicle entry certification processes need to be made in order to incorporate the certification and application of WOVM.

Contacts: (Annette King's office) John Harvey (04) 471 9305, John Saunders (04) 470 6851; (Mark Burton's office) Kallon Basham (04) 471 9738.

Questions and Answers

Mandatory WOVM is one of six initiatives contained in the Government's Vehicle Crime Reduction

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