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Record start to the year

Record start to the year

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After a disappointing end to last year’s heavy truck sales, which saw New Zealand’s new truck market narrowly fall short of its best-ever year, 2019 has seen the market rebound – with a recordbreaking January.

The 416 trucks (with a GVM of 4.5 tonnes-plus) registered in the first month of the new year was a spectacular 23.1% up on the 338 sales in January 2018 – and that was the previous alltime best.

And official NZ Transport Agency registration data shows that trailer registrations in January were also at record levels – the 111 sales edging the 105 previous best total for the month, back in 2015.

The leaders in both the overall truck market and the trailer market continued where they left off in 2018 – with longtime Number 1s Isuzu and Patchell still outfront.

In the 4.5t to maximum GVM truck market, Isuzu registered 94 vehicles in January, comfortably ahead of last year’s second and third-ranked makes, Fuso (with 69 sales) and Hino (53) respectively.

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After a disappointing end to last year’s heavy truck sales, which saw New Zealand’s new truck market narrowly fall short of its best-ever year, 2019 has seen the market rebound – with a recordbreaking January.

The 416 trucks (with a GVM of 4.5 tonnes-plus) registered in the first month of the new year was a spectacular 23.1% up on the 338 sales in January 2018 – and that was the previous alltime best.

And official NZ Transport Agency registration data shows that trailer registrations in January were also at record levels – the 111 sales edging the 105 previous best total for the month, back in 2015.

The leaders in both the overall truck market and the trailer market continued where they left off in 2018 – with longtime Number 1s Isuzu and Patchell still outfront.

In the 4.5t to maximum GVM truck market, Isuzu registered 94 vehicles in January, comfortably ahead of last year’s second and third-ranked makes, Fuso (with 69 sales) and Hino (53) respectively.

Volvo (seventh in the overall market for the 2018 year) got 2019 off to a good start with 50 registrations for fourth, ahead of an also-improved DAF (28), with Kenworth (22) next – down a place from its 2018 standing. UD (17) and Iveco, MAN and Mercedes-Benz (14 apiece) completed the top 10.

In the 3.5-4.5t crossover segment, Fiat (21) led Peugeot (6), Chevrolet (4), Ford (3) and LDV and Mercedes-Benz (two apiece).

Last year’s 4.5-7.5t category leader Fuso started strongly with 31 sales, ahead of second-placed Isuzu (15), an improved Iveco and Mercedes-Benz (seven each). Hino (6), Foton (3) and Hyundai (2) were next.

Last year’s top three held their places in the 7.5-15t segment – Isuzu registering a standout 49 trucks in January, way ahead of Fuso (16) and Hino (14). They were, in turn, well up on Iveco (3) and DAF and UD (two apiece).

The small 15-20.5t category was convincingly led by Hino (10), ahead of Fuso (5), UD (4) and Isuzu, Scania and Sinotruk, with one apiece. In the tiny 20.54-23t segment, Hino and Fuso were the only makes to post a single sale.

All of Volvo’s 50 trucks registered in January were in the premium 23t to maximum GVM category – making it the clear leader in that top end of the market, well clear of second-placed Isuzu (29), DAF (26) and Kenworth and Hino (with 22 apiece).

Fuso (16) was next, closely followed by MAN (14), with UD (11), Scania (9) and Freightliner, Mack and Mercedes-Benz each on six.

Patchell’s quest to be market leader for the 10th consecutive year got off to a good start, with 16 sales, compared to TMC (12) and Fruehauf, Roadmaster and Domett (9 apiece). 

Following them were Transport Trailers (8), MTE (7), Jackson and TES (4 each), and Evans and Tidd (3 apiece).

Industry analyst Robin Yates, whose Marketing Hand consultancy prepares this registration breakdown for NZ Truck & Driver, has been looking at the changing fortunes of the different market segments over the past decade.

The biggest change has been in the 3.5-4.5t crossover segment, which in 2009 was the second-largest in the overall 3.5t-max GVM market. By 2018 it had almost halved its share, to just 11.3%.

The runaway giant of the market back in 2009, with a 40% share, was the premium 23t-max GVM category – and that gained strength over the 10 years, improving to 43% last year (when it actually reversed three years of decline with a 3% improvement on 2017).

Within that heavyweight division there were some significant changes in the fortunes of the makes over the 20 years – even though Isuzu was No. 1 back then….and last year.

Behind it though, in 2009 the rest of the top 10 (in order) comprised Scania, Volvo, Freightliner, Hino, Fuso, Kenworth, Mercedes-Benz, Western Star and UD. Last year Kenworth had improved to second, ahead of Volvo, DAF, Hino, Fuso, Scania, UD, Mercedes-Benz and MAN.

The other big change in the categories’ market shares since 2009 was in the 4.5-7.5t segment – up from 13% in 2009, to 22% last year.

The flat (and tiny) 20.5-23t segment reached a new low last year (at just over 1%) – just a shadow of its status in the 1980s when, (in the days of lightweight 6x4s), it was the biggest part of the market, says Yates. 

Its demise began in the mid-1990s, when manufacturers began increasing GVMs from the typical 22.5t and 190hp to 23.5t and 250hp…and then, after 2000, progressively to 26t and 350hp.

This moved the biggest-selling 6x4s out of the 20.5-23t segment, into the 23t to max GVM division.  


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