Aussie truck sales storm back

Registrations of new commercial vehicles have bounced back strongly over the first quarter of 2021, surpassing the figures of a year ago and bettering even those of two years ago, long before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Positive growth was recorded across the heavy, medium and light-duty truck segments and the light-duty van segment, with meteoric gains at the lighter end of the commercial vehicle spectrum complemented by solid progress in the heavy-duty sphere.

According to the latest T-Mark registration data from Truck Industry Council, a total of 3558 new trucks and vans were registered for the month of March. That's up by 36.6 per cent from the same month last year, when the coronavirus pandemic saw lockdowns commence, but it's also up 7.9% from the March 2019 figure.

The surging March 2021 result pushed the first-quarter year-to-date tally to 8325 units, which is up 20.6% from the previous corresponding period and is roughly on par with the first three months of 2019.

All but four of the major brands posted growth over the first quarter, the exceptions being Volvo, Mack, DAF and MAN. Isuzu continues to lead the charge in terms of new registrations, followed by Hino, Fuso, Kenworth and Mercedes-Benz.

Rank, Brand, 2020 YTD, 2021 YTD, % CHG
1. Isuzu, 1714, 2034, +18.7
2. Hino, 996, 1326, +33.1
3. Fuso, 662, 925, +39.7
4. Kenworth, 398, 497, +24.9
5. Mercedes-Benz, 274, 387, +41.2
6. Volvo, 394, 325, -17.5
7. IVECO, 286, 293, +2.4
8. Scania, 213, 218, +2.3
9. FIAT, 126, 128, +1.6
10. UD Trucks, 109, 125, +14.7
11. Mack, 152, 119, -21.7
12. DAF, 99, 95, -4.0
13. Freightliner, 48, 90, +87.5
14. Western Star, 43, 63, +46.5
15. MAN, 112, 61, -45.5
16. Hyundai, 27, 60, +122.2
17. Renault, 36, 42, +16.7
18. Ford, 6, 36, +500.0
19. Dennis Eagle, 9, 27, +200.0
20. Volkswagen, 9, 10, +11.1
21. International, 10, 9, -10.0

Related reading:
2020 truck sales: who grew, who didn't
Euro truck sales plunge in 2020
Sales down through third quarter 2020
COVID-19 strikes Aussie truck sales

Some 1035 new heavy-duty trucks were registered in March, representing solid growth of 21.5% over the same month last year, while the first-quarter tally of 2437 units was up a respectable 9.8% over the same period last year.

Compared to the light-duty segment, it was more of a mixed bag of fortunes at the heavy end of the market, with several brands posting a contraction.

Segment leader Kenworth was up 24.9% for the quarter while arch rival and second-placed Volvo was down by 15.6%. But the stand-out performance was by Mercedes-Benz, its tally of 260 heavy-duty trucks up by an astounding 51.2% over the same period in 2020.

In fact, of all the major blocks it was Daimler that stood out – not just for Mercedes-Benz, but for Fuso (up 19.3%) and Freightliner (up 87.5%) too, the latter no doubt helped along by sales of its new Cascadia.

Rank, Brand, 2020 YTD, 2021 YTD, % CHG
1. Kenworth, 398, 497, +24.9
2. Volvo, 372, 314, -15.6
3. Isuzu, 301, 292, -3.0
4. Mercedes-Benz, 172, 260, +51.2
5. Hino, 103, 125, +21.4
6. Mack, 152, 119, -21.7
7. UD Trucks, 96, 100, +4.2
8. Fuso, 83, 99, +19.3
9. DAF, 97, 91, -6.2
10. Freightliner, 48, 90, +87.5
11. IVECO, 104, 86, -17.3
12. Western Star, 43, 63, +46.5
13. MAN, 22, 45, +104.5
14. Dennis Eagle, 9, 26, +188.9
15. International, 10, 9, -10.0
16. Hyundai, 0, 3, N/A
17. Hyundai, 3, 1, -66.7

Of all the major segments, it was medium-duty that was the most subdued through the first quarter of 2021. While new regos jumped up in March by 602 units (up 14.4% on the same month last year), the overall year-to-date tally topped 1462 trucks, representing marginal growth of 1.8%.

Four of the top five best-selling brands posted growth, with the exception being outright segment leader Isuzu, which was down marginally, by 1.0%.

Rank, Brand, 2020 YTD, 2021 YTD, % CHG
1. Isuzu, 580, 574, -1.0
2. Hino, 465, 514, +10.5
3. Fuso, 218, 267, +22.5
4. IVECO, 35, 37, +5.7
5. UD Trucks, 13, 25, +92.3
6. MAN, 90, 16, -82.2
7. Volvo, 22, 11, -50.0
8. Mercedes-Benz, 8, 8, 0.0
9. Hyundai, N/A, 5, N/A
10. DAF, 2, 4, +100.0
11. Dennis Eagle, N/A, 1, N/A

The star performer over the first quarter of 2021 was the light-duty segment. A total of 1231 new light-duty trucks were registered in March, up a whopping 51.8% from the same month last year, while the first-quarter total was 2971 trucks – that's up 43.7% over the previous corresponding period.

Every brand represented in the light-duty truck market recorded growth, with the top three best-selling brands – Isuzu, Hino and Fuso – up by 40.2%, 60.5% and 54.8% respectively for the first three months of the year.

Rank, Brand, 2020 YTD, 2021 YTD, % CHG
1. Isuzu, 833, 1168, +40.2
2. Hino, 428, 687, +60.5
3. Fuso, 361, 559, +54.8
4. IVECO, 147, 170, +15.6
5. Fiat, 126, 128, +1.6
6. Mercedes-Benz, 94, 119, +26.6
7. Hyundai, 27, 52, +92.6
8. Renault, 36, 42, +16.7
9. Ford, 6, 36, +500.0
10. Volkswagen, 9, 10, +11.1

The light-duty van segment also experienced a spectacular March, its tally for the month of 690 units representing growth of 65.9% over March 2019. That brought its year-to-date, first-quarter total to 1455 units, which is 23.1% over the same period last year.

Interestingly, the only brand to post a contraction over the first quarter was the segment's traditional leader, Mercedes-Benz. The German brand's Q1 total of 409 units was down 19.5% over the previous corresponding period, which in fact has dropped it down to second place behind Ford – which in contrast posted strong growth of 66.9%.

Rank, Brand, 2020 YTD, 2021 YTD, % CHG
1. Ford, 248, 414, +66.9
2. Mercedes-Benz, 508, 409, -19.5
3. Volkswagen, 163, 281, +72.4
4. Renault, 130, 154, +18.5
5. FIAT, 68, 113, +66.2
6. IVECO, 65, 84, +29.2

While the COVID-19 pandemic rages on in most parts of the globe, it's fair to say Australia's relative success in suppressing the virus has helped create favourable market conditions that have gone some way to restore consumer confidence and accelerate the national economic recovery.

Government initiatives like the Instant Asset Write-Off, JobKeeper, HomeBuilder and more have all helped to cushion the blow of the pandemic-induced recession, and if new truck registrations are a litmus test of economic health, the future looks far brighter now than it did at almost any other point in the last 12 months.

It now appears that stock availability is the bigger on-going issue for dealers and the wider Australian truck market, although most would say that's a more palatable alternative to having a pandemic bring a national economy to its knees...

With the vaccine rollout underway and international travel poised to return even in a limited 'travel bubble' form, it appears things are finally looking up for the Australian commercial vehicle market.

And, if as a nation we can control any future COVID-19 outbreaks, the best is hopefully yet to come.