2019 Australian truck sales – who grew, who didn't

While 2018 saw the Australian truck and van market reach an all-time record high of 41,628 new registrations, sales contracted in 2019, with the year-end tally of 37,960 units equating to a drop of 8.8 per cent.

The latest Truck Industry Council T-Mark data indicates it was a bear market for all the major truck segments last year, the heavy-duty, medium-duty and light-duty categories down by 11.2, 9.7 and 12.5% respectively, with the only shining light being the light-duty van niche, which bucked the trend to grow by 6.5%.

In a year that saw an Australian federal election, the threat of a trade war between the US and China, and on-going drought in many parts of the country capped off by major bushfires, volatility, market disruption and uncertainty were all themes that flowed throughout.

Having said that, it's far from doom and gloom, the 2019 figures also representing the third-best year-end tally on record for the Australian truck and van market, behind 2018 (41,628 units) and 2007 (38,131).

Here's a breakdown of how the truck and van markets finished when the calendar year drew to a close…

Sales for the month of December were down by 6.0 per cent for the overall market, with 3248 new units registered, giving a year-end tally of 37,960 – that's a fall of 8.8% over 2018.

Even the market's sales leader, Isuzu, wasn't immune. Now entering its 31st year of consecutive sales leadership, Isuzu broke new ground in 2018 with a total of 10,027 new registrations, but the tough conditions of 2019 saw this tally drop to 8621 units – a contraction of 14.0%.

Second-placed Hino fared better, its revitalised medium-duty range helping to propel it to a total of 5524 units, which is only a modest fall of 2.2% compared to the previous year. Fuso was third with 3382 sales – a drop of 21.4%.

As far as individual brand performances went among the bigger-volume set, it was only Volvo and Scania that bucked the downward trend, those two brands up 4.9% and 28.5% respectively (the latter marking an all-time Australian sales record), while positive gains were also made by Renault (up 25.3%), Hyundai (up 10.6%), Ford (up 26.9%) and Dennis Eagle (up 44.1%).

And for the major conglomerates in this country, it was Daimler (Mercedes-Benz/Freightliner/Fuso) on top with a total of 5286 units, ahead of VGA (Volvo/Mack/UD Trucks) with 4004, PACCAR (Kenworth/DAF) with 2811, IVECO (Iveco/International) with 1715 and Penske Commercial Vehicles (Western Star/MAN/Dennis Eagle) with 1374.

Rank, Brand, 2018 YTD, 2019 YTD, % CHG
1. Isuzu, 10,027, 8621, -14.0
2. Hino, 5646, 5524, -2.2
3. Fuso, 4302, 3382, -21.4
4. Kenworth, 2946, 2350, -20.2
5. Volvo, 2175, 2279, +4.9
6. IVECO, 1950, 1661, -14.8
7. Mercedes-Benz, 1872, 1624, -13.2
8. Scania, 894, 1149, +28.5
9. Mack, 1134, 1047, -7.7
10. MAN, 1218, 1020, -16.3
11. UD Trucks, 1015, 678, -33.2
12. Fiat, 650, 600, -7.7
13. DAF, 525, 461, -12.2
14. Renault, 257, 322, +25.3
15. Freightliner, 413, 280, -32.2
16. Western Star, 349, 269, -22.9
17. Hyundai, 94, 104, +10.6
18. Ford, 78, 99, +26.9
19. Dennis Eagle, 59, 85, +44.1
20. International, 61, 54, -11.5

Sales in the heavy-duty segment also fell in December, with the 1116 units recorded representing a drop of 5.9% over the same month from the previous year, but the year-to-date figure was worse, the 12,733 units achieved representing a fall of 11.2%.

Once again it was Kenworth (2350 units) leading the charge from Volvo (2239), with Isuzu rounding out the podium (1518). Only three individual brands recorded sales growth in the heavy-duty segment in 2019: Volvo (up 4.7%), Scania (up 27.9%), and Dennis Eagle (up 49.1%).

In the big sellers, Isuzu (1518 units) took a major hit with a fall of 18.3%, while sales for brands such as IVECO, Fuso, MAN, Freightliner and Western Star all sustained significant contractions. Even the individual segment leader, Kenworth, suffered – its sales fell by 20.2%.

Rank, Brand, 2018 YTD, 2019 YTD, % CHG
1. Kenworth, 2946, 2350, -20.2
2. Volvo, 2138, 2239, +4.7
3. Isuzu, 1858, 1518, -18.3
4. Scania, 891, 1140, +27.9
5. Mack, 1134, 1047, -7.7
6. Mercedes-Benz, 1097, 998, -9.0
7. Hino, 609, 580, -4.8
8. IVECO, 631, 457, -27.6
9. UD Trucks, 535, 451, -15.7
10. Fuso, 598, 447, -25.3
11. DAF, 492, 436, -11.4
12. MAN, 520, 380, -26.9
13. Freightliner, 412, 280, -32.0
14. Western Star, 349, 268, -23.2
15. Dennis Eagle, 57, 85, +49.1
16. International, 61, 54, -11.5
17. Hyundai, N/A, 3, N/A

It was a slow end to the year for the medium-duty segment, the monthly total of 560 units down 19.2% from the same month the previous year. The segment recorded a total of 7411 units for the full calendar year, which is 9.7% down on the 2018 total.

The Japanese brands continue their domination of the segment and Isuzu continues as outright sales champion, but its year-end tally of 2896 units was down 12.4% from the previous year, while the 2339 units achieved by second-placed Hino represents growth of 7.0%. Among the high volume players, Hino was the only brand to record sales growth.

UD Trucks' sales effectively halved in 2019 compared to the previous year, the 227 units it achieved equating to a drop of 52.7%. Many eyes will be following its progress closely in 2020 following the recent announcement by Volvo Group that UD's ownership is to be transferred to Isuzu.

Rank, Brand, 2018 YTD, 2019 YTD, % CHG
1. Isuzu, 3307, 2896, -12.4
2. Hino, 2187, 2339, +7.0
3. Fuso, 1230, 1063, -13.6
4. MAN, 698, 640, -8.3
5. UD Trucks, 480, 227, -52.7
6. IVECO, 140, 113, -19.3
7. Mercedes-Benz, 92, 58, -37.0
8. Volvo, 37, 40, +8.1
9. DAF, 33, 25, -24.2
10. Scania, 3, 9, +200.0

The Australian light-duty truck market finished the year with a double-digit drop, both for the month of December (1044 units, down 12.1%) and for the year-end total (11,487, down 12.5%).

Among the volume sellers it was only Renault that posted growth, its 2019 total of 322 units representing 25.3% growth over the previous year.

Rank, Brand, 2018 YTD, 2019 YTD, % CHG
1. Isuzu, 4862, 4207, -13.5
2. Hino, 2850, 2605, -8.6
3. Fuso, 2474, 1872, -24.3
4. IVECO, 1179, 1091, -7.5
5. Mercedes-Benz, 683, 568, -16.8
6. Fiat, 650, 600, -7.7
7. Renault, 257, 322, +25.3
8. Hyundai, 94, 101, +7.4
9. Ford, 78, 99, +26.9
10. Volkswagen, 2, 22, +1000.0

While the light-duty van segment held steady in 2018, last year it posted some reasonable growth. A particularly strong performance in December (528 units, up 36.1%) helped the category to a year-end total of 6329 units, which represents growth of 6.5%.

Market-leader Mercedes-Benz continues with its stranglehold of this market and posted a solid gain (2781 units, up 9.2%) with its latest-generation Sprinter. Second-placed Renault conceded some ground (1128 sales, down 11.7%), while third-placed Ford achieved 864 units – that's growth of 18.8%.

Volkswagen had a particularly strong year in 2019, the 774 units it registered equating with impressive growth of 53.9%.

Rank, Brand, 2018 YTD, 2019 YTD, % CHG
1. Mercedes-Benz, 2547, 2781, +9.2
2. Renault, 1278, 1128, -11.7
3. Ford, 727, 864, +18.8
4. Fiat, 525, 444, -15.4
5. Volkswagen, 503, 774, +53.9
6. IVECO, 365, 338, -7.4

"It was pleasing to see that the final heavy vehicle sales numbers for 2019 were the third best on record and that van sales set a new Australian record," said the CEO of TIC, Tony McMullan.

"However, the news was not all good, with significant softening of the market in the second half of 2019 a concern as we head into a new year and a new decade in 2020. In particular, all truck segments saw fewer sales in 2019 compared with 2018.

"I was pleased to see that the December result was better than forecast, noting that this better-than-expected result was largely due to some spectacular heavy van and not truck sales. Hopefully we will see a resurgence of truck sales in 2020 and the potential for a strong result as we enter a new decade."