Trekkas were sold in its first year of production and by January 1968 the 1,000th had been manufactured. When production ceased in 1973, some 2,500 had been built. Buyer demand for a more weather-proof top was answered by a white fibreglass canopy, whose manufacture was outsourced to another Auckland company. These later models were also fitted with improved seats. The inability of the standard Škoda differential to cope with the frequently slippery conditions on farms and construction sites quickly became obvious. A limited slip differential was therefore developed for the Trekka by Ray Stone, who had previously developed such units for racing cars. Exports Motor Holdings began to look for export markets in 1968, with the first Trekkas exported going to Fiji. In subsequent months, other Pacific island states imported some Trekkas. Exports to Australia became a matter of urgency when it became known that Motokov in Czechoslovakia (holding group of Škoda) planned to build a Škoda-based vehicle in Australia. The Australia and New Zealand governments agreed that up to 720 Trekkas a year could be sold in Australia free of duty, provided New Zealand issued an equal number of extra licences for Holden vehicles to be sold in New Zealand. Australian buyers did not take to the Trekka, cheapness being less of a prerequisite in that country and more robust and powerful alternatives being readily available from local manufacturers, Holden, Ford and Chrysler. Fewer than 100 Trekkas were eventually sold in Australia. In July 1969, at the height of the American War in Vietnam, five Trekkas were flown into South Vietnam in RNZAF Bristol Freighters. These served as runabouts and sometimes as ambulances with a civilian hospital run by a New Zealand surgical team. Heavy rains and poor roads led to breakdowns. The Trekka did, however, prove unattractive to black market thieves, who preferred the more ubiquitous and tougher Land Rover and Jeep. A single Trekka was exported to General Motors in Detroit in 1969, the purpose and outcome of which is unknown. Exports of CKD Trekkas to Indonesia began in 1971 for assembly there. Trekkas were exported to Latin America and Caribbean in 1970s. Tap taps in Haiti were used Trekka. Market appeal In New Zealand at that time, government regulation made it very difficult to purchase a new car because of restricted import numbers, high tariffs and high deposit requirements for hire purchase. Because the Trekka was