AIMVIA appoint David Vinsen as CEO

The Australian Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (AIMVIA) has appointed David Vinsen as the new chief executive officer.

Vinsen is current chief executive at IMVIA based in New Zealand. The AIMVIA takes its lead from IMVIA, which has been up and running since 1989.

With manufacturing of vehicles coming to an end in Australia, and the government reviewing the industry, the group’s key aim is to lobby the government and work with it on developing channels to allow Australian consumers wider choice in the automotive marketplace.

Vinsen told AutoTalk that he and fellow New Zealander Graeme MacDonald have been appointed to the board for a two-year period.

“We have a two year management contract in place to help the Australian association with governance and operations in its formative stages,” says Vinsen.

“As CEO I will bring the resources of the New Zealand experience and knowledge to bear and assist the Australian members, so they don’t in effect have to start from scratch.

“We have the general experience, contacts, and intellectual property from our New Zealand import regime,” says Vinsen. “However as New Zealanders,we don’t the technical knowledge around the current importing regime in Australia.

Vinsen says that better information and understanding of the rigour of the New Zealand import system will help the members of the formative Australian body to make better decisions and to realise better opportunities.

The AIMVIA has already introduced itself to similar organisations and departments such as the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Australian Automobile Association, Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, and the Australian Truck Council says Vinsen.

Earlier this month AutoTalk spoke to Sydney-based Ross Pendergast about plans to get the AIMVIA up and running as the new voice representing used – and possibly new – car imports in Australia.

Pendergast, who is doing a lot of the ground work to get AIMVIA numbers up, says the aim of AIMVIA is to represent the industry. “Membership is open to all those who are participants in the imported motor vehicle industry, new and used.”

AIMVIA’s mission statement is to ‘support a fair and competitive imported motor vehicle industry.’

“Essentially we will be promoting good business practice that should be legislated,” says Prendergast. “There will always be a tussle between new and used car distributors and new and used car importers.

“We need to provide some background strength as to why used and new car imported vehicles are a good thing.”

So far, the AIMVIA has around 20 paid-up members.

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