Another month, another record
THE NEW ZEALAND NEW TRUCK MARKET DEFIED INDUSTRY predictions of a March slowdown….with another alltime record month – the second in a row. The 484 trucks registered in the overall market, above 4.5-tonnes GVM, was a 23% improvement on March 2016 – and 12% up on the previous-best March ever (in 2014, when 431 trucks were registered).
Following-on from a January that was 20% up on 2016 and an alltime record February, the March performance contributed to another best-ever mark – for the first quarter.
The first three months of the year saw the sale of 1118 trucks with a GVM of 4.5t or above – beating Q1 2016 by 24% and easily outdoing 2015’s 1024 registrations, which was the old Q1 record.
While longtime industry No. 1 Isuzu held a 24.1% share of the overall market at the end of March, it did lose a few points of share compared to Q1 2016.
Fuso, revitalised since dealer Keith Andrews Trucks was appointed NZ distributor late last year, made what industry analyst Robin Yates terms “massive gains” – doubling its share in a year.
Yates, whose Marketing Hand consultancy prepares this monthly report for NZ Truck & Driver, based on official NZ Transport Agency registration data, says that Fuso’s improvement has moved it clearly ahead of last year’s No. 2, Hino, which has lost Q1 share for the third consecutive year.
It proves, says Yates, that new Fuso NZ MD Kurtis Andrews’ stated objective of restoring Fuso to the No. 2 spot this year (and eventually, no doubt, to regain the market lead held by Isuzu for 17 years) “was not a hollow piece of PR bluster.”
Fuso’s Q1 performance, says Yates, has “added a new dynamic” to the NZ truck market this year.
Registrations in January saw Isuzu narrowly leading second-placed Fuso in registrations – 60 to 56: “Then, in February, Isuzu opened up the gap, with 85 against 63. And in March Isuzu’s lead increased again, with 124 registrations compared to Fuso’s 94. So by the end of the first quarter, Isuzu led Fuso 269 to 213. A sizeable gap….but who would have predicted such a challenge six months ago?”
In February Fuso increased its January volume by 12.5% – and then improved on its February tally by 49% in March, says Yates,