Both new truck and new trailer registration totals for January 2026 are well below the same month last year.

According to New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) provisional data there were 283 trucks (with a GVM of 4.5 tonnes-plus) registered in the first month of the new year – a decrease of 16.51% on last year’s 339 registrations and a hefty 38.74% fall from the record of 462 set in January 2024.

The registration data shows that trailer registrations are also well down year-on-year for the start of 2026. The January total of 67 registrations is a 22.98% decrease on the January 2025 total of 87 and a massive 54.72% decrease from the January 2024 total of 148.

The January numbers also position a new leader in the New Zealand truck market with Hino starting the year strongly with 42 registrations in January. Isuzu is close behind in second with 40 registrations and Fuso is third with 38.

Across the 4.5t to maximum GVM truck market the leading Japanese trio of Hino, Isuzu and Fuso are followed in the January figures by Mercedes-Benz with 27 registrations to claim fourth position. Scania (21), Kenworth (20), UD (19), Iveco (18), Volvo (15) and DAF (14) are next to round out the top-10 brands.

In the 3.5-4.5t crossover segment, Fiat (25) is the clear leader ahead of LDV (16), Mercedes-Benz (14), Ford (2), Volkswagen (2) and Ram (2).

In the 4.5-7.5t market segment Mercedes-Benz (16) is on top ahead of Isuzu (12) and Fuso (12) tied in second. Hino (11), Iveco (9), Foton (3), Hyundai (3), Ram (3), Volkswagen (2) and Fiat (1) are next.

The 7.5-15t segment is led by Isuzu registering 13 trucks in January, ahead of Hino (11), Fuso (10), Hyundai (2), Foton (1), Mercedes-Benz (1) and Scania (1). 

The small 15-20.5t category was led by Hino (6), ahead of Iveco (3), and Fuso (2) with UD, Isuzu, Scania, and Volvo each achieving one registration each.

And the 20.5-23t segment remains very small with Hino (1), Isuzu (1) and Scania (1) being the only registrations in January.

The premium truck segment (23t plus) has a new leader to begin the year with Kenworth registering 20 new units to lead the January standings.

Scania (18) and UD (18) follow close behind sharing second ahead of Volvo, DAF and Fuso each registering 14 units. Hino (13) and Isuzu (13) are tied in seventh ahead of Mercedes-Benz (10) and Iveco (6) rounding out the top 10. 

The trailer segment also features a leadership change with Patchell returning to the top spot with 14 registrations in January, holding a clear margin over previous leader Fruehauf (7).

Transport Trailers (5), Domett (4), Roadmaster (4), TES (4), TMC (3), M.T.E (3), Kraft (3) and Fairfax (2) round out the trailer segment top-10 for January 2026.