New and used commercial vehicle registrations remained healthy in February, up a combined 11% year-on-year.
Total registrations of new trucks and buses over 3500kg GVM sits at 475 units for the month.
This is up 8.4% compared to the 438 units in the same period the previous year.
Isuzu is market leader for the month of February with 93 registered and a 19.6% market share.The brand was down 14.7% year-on-year with 109 registered in the same period 2018.
Fuso is in second place for the month, up 48% with 74 units registered and a 15.6% market share.Hino comes in third, down 25% year-on-year with 51 registered and a 10.7% market share.
Mercedes-Benz follows, up 14.3% with 32 units registered.Kenworth up 40% with 28, Iveco up 46.7% with 22, bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis with 21, Volvo up 31.3% with 21, Fiat down 18.2% with 18 and MAN up 63.6% with 18.
Meanwhile, total used imported truck and bus registrations were up 2.5% year-on-year with 202 units registered in February.
This compared to 197 in the same period in 2018.
Hino led the used commercial import market for the month with 45 units registered and a 35.7% market share.This was down 8.2% compared to 49 in the same period the previous year.
Toyota comes in second, down 7.1% with 39 registered and a 31% market share.Isuzu third, unchanged with 36 and a 28.6% market share.
Mitsubishi follows, unchanged with 23 units, Nissan up 70% with 17, Ford up 100% with eight, Mazda up 100% with six, DAF up 150% with five, Fiat unchanged with four and UD Trucks with three registered units.
Isuzu NZ general manager Colin Muir says February was a “reasonably good month” for the brand and achieved what was expected in terms of registrations.
Good enquiry is coming on the back of Isuzu’s Rugby Wold Cup Japan promotion as well as recent upgrades to tech accessories and telematics and new in cab safety and driver aid options across the range.
“We’re already ahead of 2018 by 20 or so units with a big drive in medium-sized 4×2.
“The pipeline is exceptionally healthy and there still seems to be a lot of business out there despite the doomsday predictors,” Muir says.
The new heavy vehicle segment over 23,000kg GVM was down 4.7% year-on-year with a total of 183 registered units in February.This compares to 192 in the same period the previous year.
Kenworth leads the segment, up 40% with 28 units registered and a 15.3% market share.
Fuso comes in second, up 166.7% with 24 units registered and a 13.1% market share; Isuzu third, down 51.3% with 19 registered and a 10.4% market share.
It was followed by Volvo, up 26.7% with 19 units, Hino down 35.7% with 18, MAN up 240% with 17, DAF down 52% with 12, Mercedes-Benz up 20% with 12, Scania up 28.6% with nine and UD Trucks up 33.3% with eight.
The new medium truck segment between 9000kg to 23,000kg GVM is up 21% year-on-year with a total of 98 registered units for February compared to 81 in the same period last year.
Isuzu takes top spot, up 42.9% with 40 units registered and a 40.8% market share.
Fuso comes in second, up 100% with 20 units registered and a 20.4% market share.Hino is third, down 13.
6% with 19 and a 19.4% market share.UD Trucks follows, down 9.1% with 10 units and a 10.2% market share and Mercedes-Benz up 200% with three and a 3.1% market share.
The new light commercial segment between 3500kg to 9000kg GVM featuring trucks, vans and buses was down by one unit or 0.7% year-on-year with a total of 142 registered in February.
Isuzu leads the segment, down 25.6% with 29 registered units and a 20.4% market share.
Fuso comes in second, down 7.1% with 26 units and a 18.3% market share.Fiat is third, down 18.2% with 18 and a 12.7% market share.
Mercedes-Benz follows, up 6.3% with 17 units, Hino down 22.2% with 14, Iveco up 140% with 12 and Volkswagen up 600% with seven.
Registrations for new commercial vehicles (under 3500kg) held steady in February, rising 0.1% or three units to 4119 registrations for the month.
Ford takes top spot, up 3.8% with 818 units and a 19.9% market share.
Toyota follow, down 13.6% with 817 units and a 19.8% market share; Mitsubishi comes in third, up 37.5% with 506 and a 12.3% market share.
Nissan follows, down 12.8% with 335 units, Holden down 17.5% with 302, Isuzu down 19.1% with 246 units, Mazda up 16% (196), LDV up 37.3% (140), Volkswagen up 8.2% (119) and Hyundai up 18.8% (76).
The Ford Ranger retained the top spot as the best-selling commercial model with 17% share (699 units) followed by the Toyota Hilux also with 17% share (686,) the Mitsubishi Triton third with 12% market share (505).
Vehicle segmentation for February 2019 continued recent trends with SUVs and light commercials dominating the market.The top two segments for the month were SUV medium vehicles with 17% share followed by the Pick Up/Chassis Cab 4×4 segment with 16% market share and the SUV Compact in third with 15% market share.
Passenger car registrations in February were up on last year, though other indicators show the heat may still be leaving the market.
There were 11,699 vehicles registered in the month of February up 1.5% (168 units) on February 2018.It was still the second strongest February on record.Of this, passenger registrations were up 2.2% year-on-year, while commercial registrations were virtually static at 0.1% up, or just three units.
That figure will be of concern to some, as utes have pushed both volumes and profits for dealerships in recent years.
Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford believes the result is a positive one.
“The outturn for February 2019 was pleasing, being the second strongest February on record behind 2017.
It indicates the market, while not growing, is steady as she goes.”
The used heavy truck segment over 23,000kg GVM was up 8.3% with 13 registrations in February.
Volvo led with three units registered for the month and Hino and Kenworth both registering two units each.
Used medium trucks between 9000kg and 23,000kg GVM were down 13.6% with 19 units registered for the month.
Hino lead with seven units.DAF and Isuzu follow with three units each in February.
The used light truck segment was up 3.9% for the month with 159 units registered.
Toyota lead, down 7.5% with 37 units; Hino in second, down 7.9% with 35 and Isuzu up 6.7% 32).
Mitsubishi follows with 21 units, Nissan 31, Mazda six and Fiat four.
Used commercials (under 3500kg) was up 5.5% for the month with 1000 units registered.
Toyota led, up 7.4% with 437 units; Nissan in second, up 4.9% with 213 and Mazda in third, up 48.8% with 61.
Ford follows with 48 units, Hino 45, Isuzu 42, Mitsubishi 29, Fiat 24, Chevrolet 22 and Holden 13.
The new tractor market was up 30.2% year-on-year with 164 units registered in February compared to 126 in the same period the previous year.
John Deere took top spot, up 82.9% with 64 units registered; New Holland in second spot, up 100% with 22 registered; Case IH third, up 54.5% with 17 units registered.
Tracktor follows with 13 units, Massey Ferguson (21), Kubota (11), Class and Fendt (four each) and Deutz-Fahr (three).
The used tractor market was up 2% year-on-year with 52 units registered in February.
Massey Ferguson was in top spot, up 375% with 19 units registered; John Deere in second, up 33.3% with eight; Ford in third, down 57.1% with three.International, Kubota and Leyland all follow with three each.
