New truck and van sales near 50,000-unit milestone

Australia’s new truck and bus market could well set a new all-time record for total sales in 2024, with the November Truck Industry Council (TIC) figures seeing the year-to-date tally sitting at 47,101 units. With just one month left of 2024, the outright total for new commercial vehicles sold could well crack 50,000 for the first time, although the numbers have been given a significant boost with the recent inclusion of LDV’s Deliver 9 (below) and Peugeot’s Boxer nameplates.

The two new additions so far account for 2685 vans and 129 light-duty trucks, skewing the overall figures in general and the van segment in particular.

A total of 4322 new trucks and vans were sold in November, up 2.3 per cent on the same month last year, while the year-to-date tally is up 7.9%.

In the overall figures it’s Isuzu leading the charge with 12,218 units, a decrease of 3.0% over the previous corresponding period, followed by Hino (4649 units, down 13.7%), Fuso (3504 units, down 21.3%), Kenworth (3416 units, up 5.3%) and Volvo (2973 units, down 7.2%).

November saw the heavy-duty segment fall by 13.7% over the same month last year, with 1387 units sold. The figure saw the year-to-date tally reach 15,771 units, which is 0.3% down on the same period last year.

Kenworth leads the heavy-duty segment with 3416 units, which is up 5.3% year to date. Volvo is second with 2904 units, a decrease of 7.4%, followed by Isuzu (2261 units, up 4.0%), Scania (1364 units, up 9.1%) and Mercedes-Benz (1008 units, up 10.3%).

The 703 new medium-duty trucks sold in November equates with a contraction of 6.9% over November last year, while the year-to-date tally of 7426 units is up by 2.0%.

Isuzu leads the medium-duty segment with 3771 units year to date, the figure up 4.2% over the same period last year. Next is Hino (2156 units, up 7.5%), Fuso (934 units, down 16.7%), Hyundai (132 units, up 43.5%) and IVECO (127 units, up 30.9%).

The light-duty truck market managed 1255 new vehicles in November, which is down 3.0% over November 2023. The year-to-date tally is now 13,395 units, which is down 10.6% over the previous corresponding period.

Isuzu is on top with 6186 year-to-date sales, which is down 9.1% over the previous corresponding period. Next is Fuso with 1893 units (down 28.3%), followed by Hino with 1775 units (down 34.5%), IVECO (1253 units, up 14.3%) and Fiat (820 units, up 25.8%).

And that leaves the light-duty van market, which is skewed significantly by the inclusion of the LDV Deliver 9 and Peugeot Boxer but is going from strength to strength regardless.

Some 977 new vans were sold in November, which is 72.0% more than the same month last year (or a still-very-strong 35.0% gain even without the Deliver 9 or Boxer). The year-to-date tally of 10,509 is up 88.7% over the previous corresponding period (or up 40.5% without the Deliver 9 and Boxer).

Mercedes-Benz leads the segment with its Sprinter accounting for 2968 units, which is up 26.8% over the same period last year. Next comes LDV’s Deliver 9 with 2651 units, followed by Renault with 1690 units (up 56.8%), Ford with 1420 units (up 459.1%), and Fiat with 679 units (up 28.4%).

According to Tony McMullan, Chief Executive Officer of the Truck Industry Council, the market is still tracking along nicely, despite the inclusion of the two new nameplates. “As I detailed in the last T-Mark summary in August, the inclusion of the LDV and Peugeot brands is great news, but as can be seen from the results above it does complicate comparisons of 2024 versus 2023 sales.

“Looking at the numbers holistically, heavy vehicle sales this year are tracking comfortably above those of 2023. However, in reality, sales are only slightly ahead of those of last year when corrected for LDV and Peugeot.

“Heavy and medium truck sales remain solid, however light-duty truck sales continue to slow noticeably over 2023 results while van sales are well up even without counting the LDV and Peugeot numbers. Once these brands are added in, van sales in 2024 are very impressive.

“With just December sales remaining, we are looking at potentially breaking the 50,000 mark for new heavy vehicle sales in Australia for the first time ever. Of course, this will include the sales for LDV and Peugeot brands that TIC has not had access to in previous years.

However, even if these brands are excluded from the 2024 sales tally, the market is tracking 1.5 per cent above 2023 results at the end of November. There is the real possibility that the all-time sales record set in 2023 will be broken this year, irrespective of the inclusion of these two brands.”