lchiu7:

 

Batman:

 

we really should be assembling EVs locally

 

any random tech company can do it

 

For those with longer memories we used to assemble cars in NZ from CKD (completely knocked down) parts. One such assembly plant was in Porirua I think, now the site of a Bunnings.  But we need people who know how to assemble parts properly and not just install random tech. From what I have fit and finish are one of the areas where Tesla's don't quite meet people's expectations of a car's finish.

We used to assemble Suzukis in Whanganui, too.
One vehicle a day, thirty mini-FWDs one month, thirty miniature vans the next month. It was ludicrously expensive and inefficient, but you couldn't get import licenses for CBU (Completely Built Up) vehicles, you could for CKD packs. However, there were certain things that had to be "NZ Local content", IIRC that included wiring harnesses, seats, glass & tyres.
I once went to the factory in Wainuiomata that produced the seat pans, a couple of thousand was a big production run. They supplied us, Mitsubishi/Chrysler in Porirua, Ford/Mazda in Wiri, Holden in Trentham, and Toyota in Thames

In Hamamatsu, the main Suzuki factory, they would drive thirty vehicles - less than an hour's production - off the main line and around the corner to a big shed where they'd carefully disassemble the vehicles, returning the wiring harnesses, seats, glass & tyres back to the assembly line. Then they'd pack the disassembled vehicles into big wooden boxes to be shipped out here, re-assembled and then sold to the long suffering public.

Ah yes the Good Olde Days ... not

No we should not be assembling EVs or anything maybe other than 'hand built' luxury or special purpose vehicles in NZ
Never again