Isuzu has asserted its dominance of the New Zealand new truck market, rounding out 2016 in number one position on the sales charts.
The result seals a remarkable 17th consecutive year of leadership for the ever-popular brand.
“Isuzu continues to go from strength to strength in New Zealand, with our total share increasing 7% in a market which was in fact down 13%,” said Isuzu New Zealand general manager, Colin Muir.
“I attribute this result to a motivated and energised dealer network, one which strives to position the customer as front of mind and ensure they have the best experience possible.
“Our head office sales and support team is also core to this result, as they provide outstanding service to both dealers and customers alike.”
One of the growing strengths of the Isuzu brand is an increased focus on reliability, an area the brand has worked hard to improve over recent years.
“If I look back five years, people loved Isuzu but one of the biggest criticisms was that on occasion some product suffered reliability issues.
“We‘ve addressed this with the factory and they have worked hard to respond, and as such we‘ve made significant advancements in this important area. I‘m proud to say Isuzu now very much lives up to our brand tag line, which is ‘Trucks you can rely on‘,” said Muir.
The current success of the brand, and confidence that the winning run will continue, is demonstrated by the willingness of dealer partners to commit to facility and equipment upgrades.
“There are high levels of confidence throughout the dealer network, with several dealers investing in either new or upgrading current facilities,” said Muir.
“The addition of these extra resources at a dealer level helps to support the growth the brand is enjoying.”
The 2016 result of 1,246 registrations is the largest Isuzu retail year on record, comfortably eclipsing the previous biggest total of 1,168 units achieved in 2006.