September sales hold steady

It could be better, but it could be worse: sales of new trucks and LCVs in Australia were up 0.5 per cent for the month of September

The Truck Industry Council has released its T-Mark sales data for September 2014, with the total sales of 2744 new trucks and light commercial vehicles equating with a slight increase of 0.5 per cent over September 2013. Year to date a total of 22,311 new trucks and LCVs have been sold, that figure representing a drop of 2.3% on this time last year.

In the overall figures, and compared to September 2013, last month saw major sales gains for Fuso (266 units, up 35.7%), Mercedes-Benz (112 units, up 103.6%), UD (86 units, up 53.6%) and Mack (88 units, up 15.8%), plus significant drops for Freightliner (51 units, down 51.4%) and Western Star (51 units, down 36.3%).

In the overall year-to-date figures Mercedes-Benz is on a charge (790 units, up 30.4%), as is Mack (736 units, up 23.9%), while – mirroring the monthly figures – significant drops have been sustained by Freightliner (561 units, down 18.7%) and Western Star (550 units, down 25.2%).

Overall market leader Isuzu dropped sales in September (624 units, down 7.7%) but it's still ahead in year-to-date figure (5197 units, up 2.2%). Rounding out the podium is Hino (2892 units, down 8.9%) and Fuso (2297 units, down 8.6%).

HEAVY DUTY

The doldrums continue in the heavy duty segment, which recorded 910 sales in September (down 9.0%) for a year-to-date total of 7761 (down 6.0%).

Kenworth leads the pack and actually grew its sales in September (221 units, up 1.4%), while its year-to-date figure isn't quite so strong (1593 units, down 11.5%). Volvo is lying in second (963 units, down 5.6%) and third is a hard-charging Isuzu (802 units, up 15.9%).

Mack is performing strongly in the heavy duty segment, its 736 year-to-date sales equating with growth of 23.9% on this time last year.

MEDIUM DUTY

Growth of 3.1% was recorded in the medium duty segment for September, with 604 new trucks delivered. The year-to-date figure, however, isn't quite so rosy – the 4783 new medium duty trucks sold this year represent a drop of 4.5%.

The month saw major gains made by UD (63 units, up 46.5%) and Fuso (95 units, 37.7%), while segment leader Isuzu came under fire (233 units, down 14.6%).

In the year-to-date figures Isuzu has sold 1967 new medium duty trucks (down 0.1%), while Hino comes next with 1286 units (down 15.9%), followed by Fuso (818 units, up 7.3%).

LIGHT DUTY

The light duty segment enjoyed some decent growth in September (751 units, up 10.4%), but the year-to-date figure is still slightly down (6370 units, down 2.1%).

The big shifts here for the month came from Mercedes-Benz (61 units, up 221.1%) and Fuso (143 units, up 36.2%), while Iveco struggled (55 units, down 16.7%).

In the year-to-date figure Isuzu dominates (2428 units, up 0.1%), ahead of Hino (1381 units, up 7.9%) and Fuso (1218 units, down 15.5%).

VANS

The van market continues to perform, recording 479 sales in September (up 3.5%) for a year-to-date total of 3397 units (up 11.3%).

Renault achieved a stellar result in September (170 units, up 40.5%) while Ford dropped back (41 units, down 29.3%).

Segment leader Mercedes-Benz recorded 201 sales in September (up 13.6%) and is well ahead in year-to-date sales (1613 units, up 21.1%). Next lies Renault (756 units year to date, up a staggering 152.0%), followed by Fiat (419 units, up 7.2%).

According to Tony McMullan, Chief Executive Officer of the Truck Industry Council, the positive gains made in the light- and medium-duty markets have been offset by a worrying fall in heavy-duty truck sales.

"It is good to see a positive result in the third quarter for both the medium- and light-duty segments and while van sales have slowed in the past three months, year to date this segment remains strong.

"However, sales in the heavy-duty category continue to trend down, now lagging the 2013 year-to-date result by six per cent. Like the general economy that is experiencing growth in some sectors while others are flat or struggling, truck sales, while better in quarter three, are not as strong as I would have hoped for this year.

"There appears to be a greater reluctance for the larger capital investment required to purchase new heavy-duty trucks and this is an obvious concern for renewing the truck fleet."

AUSTRALIAN TRUCK SALES (YEAR-TO-DATE FIGURES TO THE END OF SEPTEMBER 2014)

OVERALL

	MANUFACTURER	YTD SALES	YTD MARKET SHARE (%)
1.	Isuzu	5197	23.3
2.	Hino	2892	13.0
3.	Fuso	2297	10.3
4.	Kenworth	1593	7.1
5.	Iveco	1074	4.8

HEAVY-DUTY

	MANUFACTURER	YTD SALES	YTD MARKET SHARE (%)
1.	Kenworth	1593	20.5
2.	Volvo	963	12.4
3.	Isuzu	802	10.3
4.	Mack	736	9.5
5.	Freightliner	561	7.2

MEDIUM-DUTY

	MANUFACTURER	YTD SALES	YTD MARKET SHARE (%)
1.	Isuzu	1967	41.1
2.	Hino	1286	26.9
3.	Fuso	818	17.1
4.	UD	406	8.5
5.	Mercedes-Benz	116	2.4

LIGHT-DUTY

	MANUFACTURER	YTD SALES	YTD MARKET SHARE (%)
1.	Isuzu	2428	38.1
2.	Hino	1381	21.7
3.	Fuso	1218	19.1
4.	Iveco	447	7.0
5.	Mercedes-Benz	429	6.7

VANS

	MANUFACTURER	YTD SALES	YTD MARKET SHARE (%)
1.	Mercedes-Benz	1613	47.5
2.	Renault	756	22.3
3.	Fiat	419	12.3
4.	Ford	321	9.4
5.	Volkswagen	209	6.2

September sales hold steady

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