French manufacturer Renault posted a whopping 34.5 per cent rise in light commercial vehicle sales compared to January last year, with a total of 468 units last month.
The growth was led by the Master van and bus offering, while Kangoo and Trafic were both down on the same month in 2016.
Renault sold 262 Master vans last month and a further 38 buses, up from 118 and eight sales respectively in January last year.
Kangoo took a slight hit in sales going from 76 last year to 73 last month, while Trafic’s popularity shrank from 146 to 95.
“We’re very pleased to see increasing interest in our 12-seater Master Bus, with a new monthly delivery record set in January, while Master vans also performed strongly,” said Renault LCV senior line manager Lyndon Healey.
“Our new Master Box Van, built on the front-wheel drive platform cab is also now available, offering significant carrying capacity in a van that can be driven on a regular car licence.”
Healey credits the range of sizes as the key to the brand’s success last month, despite the figures telling a different story.
“Renault continues to hit the right note with business van buyers of all sizes, thanks to our tailored approach to specification for the Australian market,” Healey said.
“Renault has a full selection of vans, from the smallest Kangoo to the largest Master that can adapt to suit the needs of customers from corner shop florists to national fleets delivering to almost every address in the country.”
Renault is expected to recover lost ground on the other two models with the recently announced petrol engine for the entry level Kangoo and last week’s announcement of two new Trafic variants.
“To continue to build on our success, we are launching a new state-of-the-art, fuel efficient and low emission turbo-charged petrol engine for Kangoo this month that drives through both manual and automated gearboxes. This new powertrain will help small van operators to significantly reduce their running costs, week-by week, tank-by-tank,” Healey said.
“We are also launching two Crew versions to the very popular Trafic this month, adding a second row of seats while retaining all the safety, comfort and much of the load carrying capacity of the highly lauded three-seat van version.
“The Trafic Crew will appeal to small or large businesses that need to send out a crew to a worksite just as much as it does to a small business owner who can now drop the kids off at school on the way to work,” Healey added.