Light trucks lead Aussie fleet growth

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' 2018 Motor Vehicle Census, light rigid trucks – or trucks with a gross vehicle mass of between 3.5 and 4.5 tonnes – grew faster than any other vehicle category in the Australian national fleet last year, in the 12 months to January 31, 2018.

A total of 346,966 light rigid trucks were registered at the end of January, a jump of 5.1 per cent from the year before, the figure also ahead of campervans (up 4.6 per cent) and light commercial vehicles (up 3.5 per cent).

The average age of light rigid trucks in this country contracted slightly, down from 11.2 years last year to 11.1 years now, while the average age of heavy rigid trucks remained static at 15.7 years, as did that for articulated trucks (11.9 years). The average age of buses increased slightly, from 11.4 years to 11.5 years.

The number of rigid trucks with GVMs of over 4.5 tonnes increased from 491,549 to 504,998 over the past year, an increase of 2.7 per cent, while the number of registered articulated trucks grew from 98,108 to 100,694 – an increase of 2.6 per cent.

In total, there were 19.2 million registered motor vehicles in Australia as of January 31, 2018, the figure representing growth of 2.1 per cent over the previous year.

Diesel-powered vehicles now comprise 23.4 per cent of the national fleet, up from 17.2 per cent in 2013, the figure reflecting not only the growth of Australia's commercial vehicle fleet but also that of more lifestyle-oriented dual-cab utilities, among other factors.

Click here to view the full 2018 Motor Vehicle Census.