Car ID system 'too costly'

Transport Minister Steven Joyce has dumped a plan by the previous Labour Government to introduce a compulsory system identifying parts in all imported cars.

Known as Whole Of Vehicle Marking, the technology makes it easier to identify stolen cars and parts by applying thousands of microdots with a unique 17-digit code to various locations hidden on the car.

With up to 10,000 microdots, the WOVM technology makes it difficult for professional thieves to alter the identity of a car, whether disassembled for parts or still intact.

In May 2007, the then Police Minister Annette King said the scheme would speed up police inquiries into vehicle theft and provide stronger evidence in court cases.

"It will also disrupt organised crime networks as the sale of stolen vehicles and their parts are a major way of funding such networks."

In turn, Ms King believed the ID system would deter professional thieves and buyers, lowering the number of cars stolen each year.

But the National Government decided to pull out of the plans, saying the potential benefits to the scheme would be "significantly outweighed" by the cost to motorists - without supplying figures to back that up.

Mr Joyce said there was no evidence to prove that requiring vehicle marking would improve the results already achieved by immobilisers. "The Government is very mindful of imposing additional costs on consumers in these tough economic times," Mr Joyce said in a statement in May 2009.

Car recovery specialist Frank de Jong said data-dotting was a "mixed bag". He believed the cost - estimated at around $400 to install and administer each car - was high, as newer cars had immobilising technology.