Registrations of new heavy vehicles – those over 3500kg GVM – have jumped in June, up 24% year-on-year.
Registrations for the class hit 342 units in June, up from 276 a year ago in June 2012.
Murray Sowerby, general manager of Motor truck Distributors Limited, the New Zealand distributors of Volvo, Mack and Renault says market activity is looking good.
“The general market activity is good and steady with strong enquiry levels across our three brands – even now, approaching mid-winter, and that underscores a broader levels of confidence out there in the marketplace,” Sowerby says.
“We are seeing good business around logging and although freight has slowed, the general mood is one of business growth.”
For his own brands, Sowerby says Volvo is performing well.
“Volvo’s order intake is very strong, with Renault, which is more of a niche brand, also experiencing steady sales growth,” he says.
“Mack is down a little, but being based more around the construction industry, that is seasonally expected, however, the underlying enquiry levels for Mack are very good indeed.”
In market terms, it was Isuzu that put in the stellar results, up 64.8% to lead the market with 117 units, up from 71 last year.
Second was Mitsubishi Fuso on 38 units, down 24%, while Hino in third was up by the same factor to 31 units from 25.
Volvo in fourth was down one unit to 19, followed by DAF, up 45.5% to 16 rigs.
Used trucks up by half
Used truck registrations also had a very strong month, up 49.2% to 94 vehicles compared to only 63 this time last year.
Toyota was the most popular used import brand on 30 trucks, up 114.3% from 14.
Isuzu was next on 13 units, followed by Hino on 10.
