New and used commercial vehicle registrations were up in March, both rising around 10% year-on-year.
Total registrations of new trucks and buses over 3500kg GVM sits at 583 units for the month.It is up 8.8% compared to the 536 in the same period the previous year.
A total of 1576 new trucks and buses have hit the road in the year to date compared to 1430 for the same period last year.
Isuzu is the market leader for March with 106 units registered and a 18.2% market share.
The brand was down by one unit year-on-year.
Fuso is in second spot, down 22.8% with 78 units registered and a 13.4% market share; and Hino third, up 23.6% with 68 (11.7%).
Volvo follows, up 26.8% with 52 units registered, Mercedes-Benz up 77.3% (39), Fiat up 3.3% (31), Iveco up 50% (30), Kenworth up 81.3% (29) UD Trucks up 56.3% (25) and DAF down 42.5% (23).
Isuzu New Zealand national sales manager Dave Ballantyne says the market for March came in right where expected and he’s “happy with another good month of registrations for Isuzu”.
“Our dealers are reporting that enquiry is still very strong in most areas and the offer we had in the market around technical accessories in the first quarter is helping to drive that, so I’m very pleased with the response we’ve seen,” he says.
Meanwhile, total used imported truck and bus registrations were up 10.9% year-on-year with 194 units registered in March.
This compares to the 175 in the same period last year.
Toyota lead the used commercial import market for the month with 43 units registered and a 22.2% market share.It was up 65.4% compared to the 26 units in the same period last year.
Isuzu comes in second, up 5% with 42 registered and a 21.6% market share; Hino third, up 26.7% (38) and a 19.6% market share.
Nissan follows, up 21.4% (17 units), Mitsubishi down 37.5% (15), Mazda down 22.2% (7), Ford (6), Volvo up 100% (6), Fuso down 25% (3) and DAF (2).
The new heavy vehicle segment over 23,000kg GVM was up 13.1% year-on-year with a total of 259 registered units in March.This compares to 229 in the same period the previous year.
Volvo leads the segment, up 28.2% with 50 units registered and a 19.3% market share.
Isuzu comes in second, down 7% with 40 units registered and a 15.4% market share; Kenworth third, up 81.3% (29) and a 11.2% market share.
Fuso follows, down 12% with 22, Hino up 46.7% with 22, DAF down 46.2% (21), Mercedes-Benz up 240% (17), UD Trucks up 128.6% (16), Scania up 10% (11) and Sinotruk up 800% (nine).
The new medium truck segment between 9000kg to 23,000kg GVM is up 8.8% year-on-year with a total of 99 registered units for March compared to 91 in the same period last year.
Isuzu takes the top spot, up 12.5% with 27 registered units and a 27.3% market share.
Hino comes in second, up 19% with 25 units registered and a 25.3% market share; Fuso third, down 39.3% (17) and a 17.2% market share.
UD Trucks follows, unchanged with nine and Iveco up 16.7% with seven.
The new light commercial segment between 3500kg to 9000kg GVM featuring trucks and vans was up 8.2% year-on-year with a total of 198 registered in March compared to 183 in the same period last year.
Isuzu leads the segment, up 2.8% with 37 registered units and an 18.7% market share.
Fuso comes in second, down 20% with 36 units and an 18.2% market share; Fiat third, up 3.3% (31) and a 15.7% market share.
Hino follows, up 10.5% with 21, Iveco up 53.8% with 20, Mercedes-Benz up 20% with 18 and Foton up 12.5% with nine.
Registrations for new commercial vehicles (under 3500kg) declined slightly in March, down 2.7% to 4846 units for the month.
This compares to 4978 registered units in the same period last year.
Ford takes the top spot, down 6.3% market share.
Toyota is second, down 39.8% with 737 units and a 15.2% market share;
Mitsubishi third, up 55.5% (594) and a 12.3% market share.
Holden follows, up 15.2% with 325, Isuzu down 4.3% with 306, Mazda up 78.6% with 284 units, LDV down 14.1% with 164, Volkswagen up 1.3% with 162 and Hyundai up 41.3% with 113.
By model, the Ford Ranger retained the top spot as the best-selling commercial model with 18% share (850 units) followed by the Mitsubishi Triton with 12% (594) and the Toyota Hilux third also with 12% market share (581).
Overall, new vehicle sales are beginning to show a marked decline, with registrations down 3l7% for the first quarter.
Total vehicle registrations were down 5.4% year-on-year in March, according to registration data released by the Motor Industry Association.
The total registrations of passenger and SUVs for March 2019 were down 6.9% on 2018 volumes to 8425 units.
Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford says while the market is down on the highs of recent years, historically it is still at a good level.
“The out-turn for March 2019 was weaker than the same period on 2017 and 2018, but still strong compared to 2009 to 2016 period.
“However, it indicates that after a sustained period of growth the 2019 market is likely to be down on last year,” Crawford says.
The used heavy truck segment over 23,000kg was up 13.3% with 17 registrations in March.
Volvo lead with six units registered for the month followed by Hino (three) and Caterpillar (one).
Used medium trucks between 9000kg and 23,000kg GVM were down 20% with eight units registered for the month.
Hino lead with three units, followed by Isuzu (two) and DAF (one).
The used light truck segment was up 9.6% for the month with 160 units registered.
Toyota lead, up 61.5% with 42 units; Isuzu second, up 5.3% (40) and Hino third, up 39.1% (32).
Nissan follows, up 25% with 15, Mitsubishi down 33.3% with 14, Mazda down 22.2% with seven and Mitsubishi Fuso down 25% with three.
The new tractor market was up 1.2% year-on-year with 170 units registered in March, compared to 168 in 
the same period the previous year.
John Deere took top spot, down 11.2% market share.
New Holland in second spot, up 144.4% with 22 units and a 12.9% market share;
Massey Ferguson third, down 10% (18) and a 10.6% market share.
Tractor follows, up 100% with 16, Deutz-Fahr up 87.5% (15), Case IH up 33.3% (12), Kubota up 33.3% (12), Case down 14.3% (six) and Claas down 63.6% (four).
The used tractor market was down 10.7% year-on-year with 67 units registered in March.
Massey Ferguson was in top spot, up 72.7% with 19 units, John Deere down 20% (12), Deutz-Fahr (five), New Holland unchanged (five), Fiat up 300% (four) and Same up 200% (three).
