500 Series pushes Hino sales

Hino says that its new 500 Series Standard Cab has shifted the standards in the medium-duty segment, driven primarily by its safety levels.

“So far, sales are reinforcing what we believed when we launched the all-new 500 Series Standard Cab in November 2018: customers are no longer willing to accept safety as an option in the Australian medium duty segment, which is why our truck features a class-leading safety package as standard,” said Bill Gillespie, General Manager of Brand and Franchise Development for Hino Australia.

“There has been almost 800 orders of the all-new 500 Series Standard Cab, which positions us well to meet our sales targets for the year,” he added.

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The 500 Series Standard Cab safety package includes Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), and a Pre-Collision System (PCS) with Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Pedestrian Detection (PD) and Safety Eye (SE).

“These safety features have been particularly appealing to our customers in the agitator/mixer industries, while the Hino build attributes of quality, durability and reliability continue to impress our customers in the traditional tilt tray applications.

“While safety is the primary motivator for many customers, they are also attracted to the superior torque, increased power and improved fuel efficiency of the heavy-duty Hino A05 turbo-charged five-litre four-cylinder diesel engine,” said Gillespie.

He added that the six-speed Allison fully automatic transmission accounts for 65 per cent of sales to date.

“In the overall medium duty segment, Hino has sold 908 trucks year-to-date, which translates to a 30 per cent market share – this is a promising increase when compared to 860 units and a 26.9 per cent share in 2018,” said Gillespie of the segment which covers 500 Series Standard Cab and its stablemate, the 500 Series Wide Cab.

Speaking about the overall market, Mr Gillespie said: “With very strong customer orders, we are striving for an overall yearly sales result of over 6000, which would be our best result since 2007,” he continued.

“Hino is the only Japanese manufacturer that has achieved positive growth so far this year, which is very significant given the market has been a little slower,” he concluded.