The sign for importer and assembler Todd Motors makes clear exactly where this was -- part of the NZ Centennial Exhibition held in Wellington from November 1939 to May 1940. NZ was technically at war with Germany then, but not with Japan at that stage and the USA wasn't in the war then either.
For lots more get the book Wellington: a Capital century
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The cars in this photo are the various Chrysler Corporation models imported by Todd Motors. Closest to the camera is a 1940 Plymouth, next is a 1940 DeSoto, and then a 1940 Dodge. There are other photos - in the National Library collection - from this event showing a 1940 Chrysler Royal and a stripped Plymouth chassis. They must have got special permission to import these 1940 models as all imports were stopped in 1939 when the war began. If the cars did remain in the country I guess they would have been quickly snapped up - maybe by the government.
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