Vehicle Testing New Zealand Limited (VTNZ) is a company based in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, that carries out government-mandated

Warrant of Fitness A Warrant of Fitness (WoF) is an official New Zealand document certifying that a light motor vehicle has passed a compulsory periodic vehicle inspection, inspection of safety and roadworthiness. Most vehicles with a gross vehicle mass, gross mas ...

and other inspections of motor vehicles. It is the largest vehicle inspection company in New Zealand. VTNZ was founded in 1994 as Vehicle Testing New Zealand and was a New Zealand

state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...

. In 1999, it was privatised and sold to the Motor Transport Association (MTA) for NZ$19.2 million. In 2004, the company rebranded itself as VTNZ and purchased its principal competitor On Road New Zealand. In 2011, VTNZ had over 85 vehicle testing stations across New Zealand and employed nearly 1000 people. Some stations also act as government agents in processing

driver licence A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...

and

vehicle registration Motor vehicle registration is the registration of a motor vehicle with a government authority, either compulsory or otherwise. The purpose of motor vehicle registration is to establish a link between a vehicle and an owner or user of the vehicle. Th ...

applications. In 2010, VTNZ also entered New Zealand's

roadside assistance Roadside assistance, also known as breakdown coverage, is a service that assists motorists, motorcyclists, or bicyclists whose vehicles have suffered a mechanical failure that either cannot be resolved by the motorist, or has prevented them from ...

market. In 2013, MTA announced that German based company

DEKRA DEKRA is the world’s largest non-listed expert organization in the TIC sector (Testing, Inspection, Certification) founded in Berlin, Germany in 1925 as Deutscher Kraftfahrzeug-Überwachungs-Verein (German Motor Vehicle Inspection Association ...

would purchase 60 percent of VTNZ for NZ$36 million. Following the purchase, VTNZ began offering a wider range of services, including vehicle servicing. In 2014, VTNZ took over practical driver testing in New Zealand. VTNZ has been a three time winner of the IBM Kenexa Best Workplaces Award for Enterprise category (2014-2016). In 2021, it was reported that 8 cars had been stolen over the last 25 years from testing stations. The most recent case was of a Mazda worth NZ$15,000 was stolen while the inspector returned to the office to write the WOF sticker while leaving the keys in the car.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Website
Companies based in Wellington Emergency road services Former government-owned companies Automotive testing agencies Service companies of New Zealand Transport companies of New Zealand Transport companies established in 1994 New Zealand companies established in 1994