Sales build for new financial year

A total of 2654 new trucks and light commercials were registered in Australia during the month of July (TIC T-MARK data), the figure essentially holding steady (-0.1 per cent) in comparison with July 2014.

Year to date, however, a total of 17,794 new trucks and vans have now been registered – that's solid growth of 4.6%.

While July saw overall numbers drop significantly from the previous month – a reflection of the typical end-of-financial-year sales spike – the figures across the individual vehicle segments saw strong light-duty truck and van performances continue to counter a soft heavy-duty market.

While the 842 new heavy-duty trucks registered in July equated with drop of 2.8% over July 2014, the segment's year-to-date total of 5484 units represents a contraction of 8.8%.

Despite the weak overall numbers, strong gains have been made in the heavy-duty segment by Volvo and Isuzu, while market leader Kenworth is down and significant drops have been posted by Mack and Iveco.

The medium-duty segment saw 580 units registered for the month (-4.0% on July 2014) to bump the year-to-date total to 3647 units, the latter essentially seeing the segment holding steady (+0.8%) compared to the previous corresponding period.

It's Hino and UD Trucks firing on all cylinders in the medium-duty market, both posting solid gains, while market leader Isuzu is down slightly and Fuso is down by 5.7%.

New light-duty truck registrations shrank by 3.9% for the month of July (820 units) compared to the same month last year, but the segment's year-to-date tally of 5394 units is up by 11.2% year on year.

The traditional Japanese podium of Isuzu, Hino and Fuso are all performing strongly – especially Hino and Fuso – and Mercedes-Benz has also made some solid ground, while Iveco's year-to-date tally is down.

That leaves the light-duty van segment, where new registrations were up 23.7% for the month (with 412 units) over July 2014, and year-to-date registrations are up by 29.1% (with 3269 units).

Mercedes-Benz continues as market leader in the light-duty van segment but second-placed Renault continues to gain ground – the French manufacturer's registrations are up by 52.6% in this segment year to date, while's Ford's registrations have jumped by a massive 89.9% year on year.

Interestingly, and despite some challenging economic conditions, the top three manufacturers based on overall volume – Isuzu, Hino and Fuso – have all managed to increase their new registrations over the first seven months of 2015.

According to Tony McMullan, TIC Chief Executive Officer, the July figures represent a continuation of the prevailing market trends.

"The poor truck sales result in July is disappointing, however I am pleased to see that at least the light-duty van result was strong," he said.

"The overall result in July highlights what I have been suggesting all year; there appears to be a general reluctance by the businesses in the road transport sector to make the bigger-dollar spending commitments required to renew their existing and aging truck fleets."

See the tables below for a summary of the top five manufacturers in each category, based on year-to-date registrations…

JULY 2015 YEAR-TO-DATE REGISTRATIONS (OVERALL)

JULY 2015 YEAR-TO-DATE REGISTRATIONS (HEAVY DUTY)

JULY 2015 YEAR-TO-DATE REGISTRATIONS (MEDIUM DUTY)

JULY 2015 YEAR-TO-DATE REGISTRATIONS (LIGHT DUTY)

JULY 2015 YEAR-TO-DATE REGISTRATIONS (LIGHT-DUTY VAN)