Ranger leapfrogs rival

There were 3,280 new commercials registered last month, with the market dropping 32.5 per cent when compared with 4,861 units in February 2022.

Ford’s Ranger, pictured, was the top model with 859 sales, which was down 22.5 per cent from 1,109 in the same month a year ago, as it took out 26.2 per cent of the market.

February saw the top pairing from January this year trade places, with the Toyota Hilux next on the models’ list. It had 849 registrations last month, down 4.1 per cent from 885 in February 2022, and a 25.9 per cent share.

Completing last month’s top five was the Mitsubishi Triton on 230 units, the Isuzu D-Max on 117 and Nissan’s Navara on 109, with all those models suffering significant sales drops from a year ago.

Year to date, the Ranger has 1,654 registrations and a 25.5 per cent market share to keep it just ahead of the Hilux on 1,649 and 25.4 per cent.

On the marques’ ladder, Toyota led the way last month with 944 sales, down 12.3 per cent from 1,076 in the previous February, and a market share of 28.8 per cent.

Ford claimed second spot on 932 units, which was 18.2 per cent lower than a year ago, and 28.4 per cent of all new commercial activity.

The leading pair were followed by Mitsubishi on 233 registrations, Isuzu with 212 and LDV on 132.

Toyota holds the advantage over the first two months of 2023, with 1,933 sales and 29.8 per cent of the market. Ford’s figures stand at 1,823 and 28.1 per cent, respectively.

Used market slumps

There were 174 used-imported commercials registered for the first time last month, which was 45.5 per cent fewer than the 330 units in February last year.

Toyota was the number-one marque with 174 registrations for a market share of 36.5 per cent despite its sales falling 47.3 per cent from 330 units in the same month of 2022.

Its Hiace, pictured, was the leading model with 25.4 per cent of February’s market thanks to 121 sales, which was down from 246 a year ago.

Nissan was runner-up on the marques’ ladder last month with 108 sales for a 22.6 per cent share of the market, and Hino was third with 36 units and 7.5 per cent. 

The Nissan NV350 was the second best-selling model last month with 74 sales and a 15.5 per cent share of the overall total, while the Hino Dutro was third on 25 units.