Scania Australia sets sales record

Scania Australia set a new sales record in 2013, with major deals in the mining and national fleet sectors underpinning strong general growth

It’s been a happy New Year indeed for Scania Australia, with the local arm of the Swedish manufacturer selling 652 heavy trucks over the course of 2013 to set a new sales record.

According to latest figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), Scania finished 2013 strongly with 79 sales in December – an increase of 5.3 per cent over the December 2012 figure. Those sales pushed Scania to a total of 652 for the year, the record also marking impressive growth of 11.6 per cent over the 2012 total of 584 units.

The total 2013 figure equates with a market share of 6.9 per cent.

Scania Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Roger McCarthy, said the success was down to a more diverse spread of customers.

“We saw a much broader customer mix last year and we had a lot of success in being focussed in certain segments,” he said.

“We’ve been focussed on the mining segment, where we picked up some addition business. We’ve signed supply agreements with BHP Billiton – we’re now one of its preferred suppliers – along with Rio Tinto.”

McCarthy said Scania had also excelled in the national fleet business over the past year, signing significant deals with Toll and Linfox, among others, while also supporting many relationships with full repair and maintenance contracts.

“I would say 70 per cent of the business we’ve been writing with national fleets has been under full R&M agreements, which from our perspective is a very positive development,” he said.

In addition to new truck sales, Scania’s truck rental business has also enjoyed solid growth.

“We’re the only manufacturer that has its own dedicated rental fleet,” says McCarthy.

“We’re just opening a new office in the beginning of January in Melbourne so then we’ll have rental offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. We’re up around 100 trucks right now with board approval to go up to 150 trucks,” he adds.

Scania Australia sets sales record

Tags