A combination of stock shortages and a fast-charging Mitsubishi effort have seen market leader Toyota start the year outside the top ranks of market statistics.
FleetTalk understands huge stock shortages – rather than a lack of demand – are behind the traditional-leader dropping to fifth in the passenger stakes and third in commercials.
Toyota appears not to be alone in the delivery issue space, with the passenger market down 8.5% year-on-year to 8883 units according to provisional numbers.
Mitsubishi leads the passenger market with a huge 1674 unit haul, up 67.1% for an 18.8% market share.
Kia took second, down 19.7% for 1085 registrations, down 19.7% for a 12.2% share, followed in third by Hyundai on 693, up 18.3% for a 7.8% share.
Suzuki took fourth place with a 646 tally, down 10.2% for a 7.3% share, well clear of Toyota on 497 – down 65% for a 5.6% share.
Toyota was just two units ahead of Honda on 495, followed by MG on 471, Mazda on 460, Mercedes-Benz on 276 and Nissan on 269.
The top passenger model, and top vehicle overall, was the Mitsubishi Outlander on 1185 units, compared to 389 vehicles a year ago.
MG’s ZS was a surprise inclusion in second on 201 units, followed by the Mitsubishi ASK on 298.
The Kia Sportage was next on 288, followed by the Hyundai Kona on 269.
Mitsubishi also lead the commercial trade on 1137 units, up 162% for a 25% share.
Ford took second on 976, down 4.4% for a 21.5% share, followed by Toyota on 668 – down 29.4% for a 14.7% stake.
Nissan took fourth on 384, followed by LDV on 251.
The Mitsubishi Triton was the top commercial on 1118 units – up from just 414 vehicles a year ago.
The Ford Ranger took second on 953, followed by the Toyota Hilux on 506.
After a strong previous month the Nissan Navara had a steady result of 384, followed by the Isuzu D-Max on 172.
