Wild ride continues for Aussie truck sales

The Truck Industry Council’s latest TMARK registration data for new trucks and vans shows a total of 3296 new vehicles hit the road in July, bringing the total number of new registrations for the year to 23,216. 

That’s growth of 14.0 per cent for the month versus July 2020, and growth of 20.1% year-to-date versus the previous corresponding period. Mind you, with last year’s COVID lengthy lockdowns effectively putting the brakes on the nation’s economy, and sporadic lockdowns still plaguing us through 2021, it’s difficult to read too much into the figures, at least as far as defining trends goes. 

Across the major categories, heavy-duty sales were up 30.6% for the month (1021 units) and 19.5% year to date (6811), while medium-duty sales faltered – the category was down 6.3% for July (534), though year to date it’s up 6.2% (4071). 

The light-duty truck category is forging ahead, however. New registrations in this segment were up 21.5% for the month (1202), while year to date it’s achieved growth of 29.3% (8072). And registrations of new light-duty vans were down 2.0% for July (539), but up 19.8% year to date. 

Let’s take a quick look at the segment sales leaderboards... 

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1. Isuzu, 5524, +15.7
2. Hino, 3667, +21.3 
3. Fuso, 2577, +36.6 
4. Kenworth, 1414, +47,0 
5. Mercedes-Benz, 1026, +50.9 

Solid growth was posted by many brands in the overall year-to-date tally, but not everyone. Traditional market leader Isuzu (up 15.7%) continues to dominate the overall figures, but Daimler is a standout performer thanks to strong gains from each of its brands, with Fuso up 36.6%, Mercedes-Benz up 50.9%, and Freightliner up 55.7%. 

Kenworth leads the heavy-duty specialists with growth of 47% in the overall figures, while Scania is up 42.4% (678) and Western Star is up 43.2% (199). Meanwhile, Volvo sales are down 18.6% (904) and Mack sales is down 20.8% (335), although sibling VGA brand UD Trucks is up 12.2% (376). 

Korean brand Hyundai is also rebounding, with new registrations of 136 units year to date equating with growth of 106.1%. 

1. Kenworth, 1414, +47.0
2. Volvo, 880, -17.2
3. Isuzu, 727, +0.7
4. Mercedes-Benz, 692, +48.2 
5. Scania, 678, +44.3 

At the heavy end of the market, segment leader Kenworth is powering along strongly with year-to-date growth of 47.0%, while second-placed Volvo is contracting, its numbers down 17.2%. Mercedes-Benz is now outselling Scania, although both European brands are gaining strong traction this year. 

1. Isuzu, 1546, -0.5
2. Hino, 1417, +9.0
3. Fuso, 800, +31.4
4. UD Trucks, 88, +57.1
5. IVECO, 63, -16.0 

In the medium-duty sphere, Hino is narrowing the gap on segment leader Isuzu – Hino’s new year-to-date registrations are up 9.0%, while Isuzu’s are down by 0.5%. But it’s third-placed Fuso that has posted the most impressive gains, its 800 units a gain of 31.4%, while UD Trucks is also performing well, though off a far smaller base. 

1. Isuzu, 3251, +30.0 
2. Hino, 1902, +30.5 
3. Fuso, 1458, +35.1 
4. IVECO, 514, +5.5 
5. FIAT, 320, +15.9 

The traditional pecking order of the top three brands remains in light-duty trucks, while all three experienced growth of at least 30.0% year on year. All top five brands in the light-duty truck market remained in the black. 

1. Mercedes-Benz, 1449, +7.5 
2. Ford, 918, +42.1
3. Volkswagen, 749, +18.1
4. Renault, 671, +13.5
5. FIAT, 273, +92.3 

Finally, while Mercedes-Benz continues to dominate the light-duty van category, second-placed Ford is edging closer, its 918 units representing growth of 42.1%. Further down the order, FIAT is also having a stellar year, its 273 units equating with growth of 92.3%. 

It’s clearly been a roller-coaster ride for the Australian truck industry since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re far from out of the woods yet, as Sydney’s and southeast Queensland’s current lockdowns attest. 

However, 2021 has delivered substantially more stability than 2020 and, if Australia as a nation can achieve its vaccine targets by early next year, 2022 is looking better again.