Second-hand cars could get cheaper

Consumers would be free to buy cheaper second-hand cars and a greater variety of new models under a proposal to lift vehicle import restrictions and boost competition.

As the Abbott government prepares to release a regulatory impact statement into changes to the Motor Vehicle Standards Act, specialist car importers are urging it to resist pressure from the powerful automotive lobby and relax regulations on vehicles entering Australia.

Slamming current restrictions as complicated, expensive and outdated, specialist car importers say consumers will benefit if the government frees up imports of second-hand vehicles while introducing new safety regulations.

The call comes amid a government review of the act and after last week's Harper report into competition policy supported progressively relaxing restrictions on vehicle imports.

A shake-up of the current regulatory environment would slightly increase the volume of used vehicles from other right-hand-drive markets

Nuwan Piyatissa, chairman of RAWS - the Registered Automotive Workshop Scheme, which imports specialist vehicles - said the government was under immense pressure from the established "cartel" of vehicle dealers to protect the existing market.

RAWS wants the act changed to allow imports of vehicles less than six years old for models not imported new by the original manufacturer.

"The existing arrangements of an established cartel which allows high-volume vehicle wholesalers and retailers to dictate pricing, control supply and predetermine the type and specification of vehicles imported to Australia need an urgent overhaul," Mr Piyatissa told News Corp Australia.

He said a shake-up of the current regulatory environment would slightly increase the volume of used vehicles from other right-hand-drive markets and this would stimulate competition.

"These used imports, many of them built on the same production lines and to the same strict standards applied to models already sold here, would compete with Australia's traditional car yard, generating competition and fairer pricing," he said.

He gave the example of a 1998 Ferrari 355 imported from Britain, which would be on the road for less than $100,000, a saving of about $50,000 compared to one bought in the Australian market.

Holden, Ford and Toyota have warned of potential safety concerns

Changes to the act to allow consumers access to cheaper vehicles have also been supported by the Productivity Commission in its review of the act last year, the peak national motoring consumer group, the Australian Automobile Association, and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. But auto industry groups and carmakers have been pushing back against the potential change since the government released a policy options paper in September.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has argued there is "no compelling public policy case" for reducing the barriers to personal importation of new vehicles, while Holden, Ford and Toyota have warned of potential safety concerns. Assistant Minister for Infrastructure Jamie Briggs is assessing submissions into the act's review and is expected to release a regulatory impact statement next month.

Last year, Mr Briggs said "fearmongering" from industry did not mean change to vehicle imports was impossible, but said the government would not allow Australia "to become the dumping ground for other countries' second-hand lemons".