A slight improvement
NEW ZEALAND’S NEW TRUCK MARKET continued at what has become its “new normal” in August – but, at least, improved a little on the previous month’s registrations. The comparison with last year’s pre-COVID monthly totals was slightly better – from 20% down in July, to 16% down in August.
The month saw 399 registrations in the overall truck market (over 4.5 tonnes GVM) – 19 more than July’s total, but shaded by the 476 registrations in August last year.
The 2646 registrations year-to-date after the first eight months of the year were 26% down on last year’s 3572 sales at the same point. The YTD figure at the end of July was 27% down.
The trailer market, with 112 registrations in August, was
16% down on July’s 133 total and the 795 registrations YTD at the end of August was almost 23% down on the 1035 last year.
In the overall truck market, longtime No. 1 Isuzu (651/109) again dramatically extended its lead, with another 100-plus sales tally. Its 109 for the month, which took its YTD total to 651 trucks, was remarkable in that it actually beat its August 2019 sales (103).
Volvo (193/26) too improved on its (22) August 2019 registrations – while both Scania (192/30) and Iveco (181/31) went one better: They were ahead of their August sales last year…. AND YTD tallies – Scania up from 132 to 192 and Iveco improving from 178 to 181.
The top 10 positions in the overall market were unchanged in August, with FUSO (366/34) second, ahead of Hino (344/53) and Volvo (193/26) – with Scania (192/30) closing up. Iveco (181/31) was sixth, while Mercedes-Benz (139/30), Kenworth (115/22), DAF (103/16) and UD (93/13) completed the top 10.
In the 3.5-4.5t GVM crossover segment – which was