The lifting of the nationwide COVID-19 Level 4 lockdown saw a rebound in new truck registrations in September…as expected.

From August’s lowly 283 registrations, September’s sales in the overall truck market (over 4.5 tonnes GVM) jumped 67.8% – to 475 – according to Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency statistics.

It was also a 25.6% increase on September last year (when there were just 378 registrations) – but was still down on the last “normal” (ie pre-COVID-effected) year, in 2019, when there were 514 registrations in the same month.

Also putting things into perspective were the year-to-date truck registrations to the end of September – totalling 3559, compared to the 4086 tally at the same point in 2019. 

The trailer market’s YTD total stood at 1076 – similarly, ahead of last year’s September YTD result of 928 registrations…but down on 2018’s alltime best 1312.

In the overall truck market (4.5t-maximum GVM), Isuzu (668/88) maintained its YTD lead – with second-placed FUSO (645/82) still chasing closely (albeit while slipping back a little). 

The race for market leadership has tightened during 2021 with the FUSO marque achieving a strong increase in market share (year-on-year), up from 14.6% at the same point last year, to 18.1%. At the same time, Isuzu has seen a drop from a 24.1% share last year to 18.8% YTD in 2021.

Hino (545/83) filled third position YTD at the end of September, ahead of Scania (330/51), Iveco (223/28), Mercedes-Benz (187/23), Kenworth (169/18) and Volvo (148/11). The only ranking change in the 2021 top 10 saw DAF (130/29) moving up one place at the expense of UD (129/13), with an impressive 29 registrations (the fifth best for the month).

In the 3.5-4.5t GVM crossover segment, clear No. 1 Fiat (281/23) extended its leadership, ahead of Volkswagen (96/11) and Mercedes-Benz (57/7).

Registrations in the 4.5-7.5t category saw FUSO (334/47) increase its lead on Isuzu (258/38), with Hino (133/22) retaining third. Mercedes-Benz (92/5) remained in fourth and Iveco (95/6) stayed fifth.

In the 7.5-15t class, Isuzu (269/33) slightly extended its significant lead on Hino (182/30), while FUSO (133/13) stayed third, with Foton (42/3) and Iveco (38/8) well behind the top three.

In the 15-20.5t GVM category, Hino (66/11) continued to lead, well ahead of FUSO (47/8) and UD (24/3), in second and third. Iveco (16/5) retained fourth, ahead of Isuzu (14/4), which edged ahead of Scania (13/3).

In the tiny 20.5-23t GVM division, Hino (15/3) retained the top spot, ahead of Isuzu (13/2) and FUSO (8/1).

In the premium 23t-maximum GVM category, Scania pushed further ahead with its dominant lead, registering 46 for the month to take its YTD total to 312. 

Kenworth (169/18) continued to hold a distant second YTD, ahead of strong September sales for Hino (149/17) that saw it edge ahead of Volvo (146/11) for third. FUSO (123/13) was joined, in fifth-equal, by DAF – which had an impressive month to move ahead of Isuzu (114/11). UD (96/10) held eighth, while Mercedes-Benz (75/16) moved ahead of Iveco (73/8) to round out the top 10.

Market leader Patchell remained comfortably ahead in YTD trailer sales, with 144 registrations. Its 15 regos in September were matched by second-placed Fruehauf – the latter taking its 2021 total to 105. 

Domett (90/12) held onto third position, while Roadmaster (69/14) moved ahead of MTE (68/12) for fourth. Transport Trailers (61/10) went clear of TMC (60/9) for sixth ranking, while Freighter (51/7), Transfleet (38/4) and CWS (32/4) completed the top 10, their order unchanged.