Heavy duty truck sales lead October surge

Heavy duty trucks are leading the continued recovery of Australia’s heavy vehicle market.

The total market for trucks and vans was up 13.8% for the month of October, while year-to-date heavy vehicle sales are tracking 10.2% higher than this time last year.

All market segments, except light duty trucks, posted gains over the corresponding month last year. Heavy duty trucks saw the second-best October on record. The segment posted deliveries of 1188 units, up 36.6% (316 trucks) on October 2016.

Year-to-date results show heavy sales tracking up 20.9% over those of the same period in 2016. In terms of actual truck numbers, the sales gap now sits at 1634 more heavy trucks sold year-to-date than in 2016.

Medium duty truck sales have been the weakest performing segment in 2017. However, year-to-date sales are tracking 2.7% higher than in 2016, up 155 trucks to the end of October. Sales were solid during the month with 652 deliveries, up 10%, representing 31 more medium trucks delivered than in October 2016.

Light duty truck sales were the star performer last year. While October 2017 sales of 1045 were down 1.6% (47 trucks) compared to the same month last year, the light truck segment year-to-date is outperforming 2016. By the end of October, 9477 small trucks were sold, representing an increase of 601 sales (6.8% up) over the same period in 2016.

Isuzu dominates with 824 units sold in October, well ahead of Hino (438) and Fuso (336).

The light duty van segment remains the second strongest growth category in 2017.
Sales are up 11.2% (525 vans sold) for October, 53 vans more than the same month last year.
Year-to-date the tally continues to build on 2016 volumes with 4873 vans delivered to the end of October 2017 compared to 4506 this time last year, an 8.1% increase.
Mercedes-Benz Vans leads this field (236), followed by Renault Vans (129) and Ford Vans (89).

“It was great to see strong heavy vehicle sales in October, with again the heavy duty truck segment forging ahead as it has done for all of 2017,” Truck Industry Council (TIC) president Phil Taylor says.

“I feel that we are unlikely to see an industry sales record by the end of this year, but we could see the second strongest year on record and that would be very positive news for the road freight transport sector.”

TIC chief executive officer Tony McMullan is also delighted.
“All segments are tracking higher than they were at this time in 2016, and that is positive news for the industry.”
He expects the year will bring the best sales result since the global financial crisis, resulting in a healthy start to 2018.