Isuzu has narrowly secured the number one ranking in the New Zealand new truck market after a year-long duel with Fuso ended with only four units separating the Japanese brands in 2023.

It’s a return to the top spot for Isuzu which had been the truck market leader for 21 years until Fuso moved ahead to secure two years of leadership in 2021 and 2022.

The NZTA registration data for 2023 also confirms a new record for new truck sales (with a GVM above 4.5 tonnes) with 6,183 registrations for the full year. The market finishes the year showing a slight increase of 3.27% compared to 2022 (5987 registrations) with the rate of growth slowing as the year progressed.

The new trailer market also achieved year-on-year growth with total registrations of 1547 units last year up from the 1440 total achieved in 2022. It’s still some way behind the all-time record for registrations which remains the 1714 new units achieved in 2018.

Isuzu not only topped the truck market but also grew its market share during 2023. Closing the year with 191 registrations during November and December boosts the Isuzu registration total to 1224 units and its full-year market share climbs from 18.7% to 19.8%.

Fuso (1220 full year/191 Nov-Dec) retains second place however records a slight market share decrease from 20.9% of the market in 2022 to 19.7% in 2023.

Hino and Scania continue to hold third and fourth place respectively with Hino numbers of 757 (full year) and 97 (Nov-Dec) ahead of Scania (656/104). Hino did however drop share from 15.8% in 2022 to 12.2% in 2023 while Scania grew sales last year with 8.6% in 2022 to 10.6% in 2023.

Iveco (343/69) holds fifth position for the year ahead of Mercedes-Benz (333/85), UD (315/40), Volvo (312/49), DAF (256/49) and Kenworth (200/31) completing the top-10.

Volvo (up 66.8% year-on-year), DAF (up 69.5%) and Mack (up 63%) were the brands to make the largest gains in 2023.

And in sharp contrast to the passenger car sector where Chinese brands made major inroads in 2023 the opposite applies in the heavy commercial sector. Foton (down 71%), Sinotruk (down 311%) and Shacman (down 220%) all sold significantly fewer trucks than in 2022.

In the crossover 3.5-4.5t GVM market segment, long-time sector leader Fiat (452/205) remains dominant. Posting 205 registrations in November/December sees Fiat claim 33.0% of the market for the year. Mercedes-Benz (288/60) is a distant second, followed by Iveco (212/53) and Ford (186/64).

The 4.5-7.5t GVM segment is Fuso’s (625/86) strongest performing segment accounting for just over half of its sales. It holds 35.3% market share ahead of Isuzu (393/63) with a 22.2% share. Iveco (181/35) ranks third, followed by Mercedes-Benz (168/61) and Hino (149/18).

In the 7.5-15t segment, Isuzu (512/69) is the clear market leader, well ahead of Fuso (245/64) and Hino (192/19).

Hino (104/13) clearly leads the 15-20.5t division ahead of Fuso (54/9) in second. UD (52/3), Isuzu (40/13), Scania (29/4) and Mercedes-Benz (16/3) are next.

The 20.5-23t category continues to represent a tiny slice of the market with only 41 registrations. Hino (19/1) holds a commanding 46% market share ahead of Scania (10/4) and Fuso (6/0) is third.

In the premium 23t-maximum GVM segment, 2929 new registrations during 2023 represents a new record. It’s 14.4% ahead of last year’s total registrations of 2560 units which is also the previous record year.

Scania (616/95) enjoys sales leadership in the premium category for the fourth consecutive years and now holds a 21.0% market share but the rest of the rankings are significantly changed compared to 2022.

Volvo (306/39) climbs from seventh position in 2022 into second with an impressive 73% increase year-on-year while Hino (292/45) holds third place. Fuso (290/32) is down one spot on its 2022 ranking in fourth ahead of Isuzu (274/44). UD (251/34) ranks sixth, while DAF (245/49) moves up a spot and Kenworth (200/31) drops to eighth, ahead of Mercedes-Benz (141/19), Iveco (108/26) and MAN (89/10).

The major headline for the trailer market in 2023 sees Fruehauf (192/28) ending Patchell’s 13-year reign at the top. Fruehauf registered 22 more trailers in 2023 than it did in 2022 and grew its market to 12.4% - up from 9.6% last year.

Patchell (157/21) actually achieved more sales (up from 146 last year) and a larger market share (up from 9.6% in 2022 to 10.1% last year) in spite of slipping to second position.

Domett (118/14) moved ahead of Roadmaster (110/18) holding third and fourth respectively while Transport Trailers (106/14) moves into fifth ahead of TMC (100/14). MTE (58/5) holds seventh ahead of Freighter (45/3) and Transfleet (45/4) tied in eighth while TES (41/9) rounds out the top-10 for 2023.