Australian Truck and heavy commercial sales seemed to have plateaued in the past month with sales figures for the month of July generally line ball with the same month in 2024.
A total of 3630 trucks and heavy vans were sold in Australia in July, a drop of only 267 vehicles compared with the same month in 2024.
That represents a drop of about six per cent compared with the same time last year, while some of the sales figures from leading brands held up reasonably well, with Isuzu again topping the overall sales charts , having sold 1072 units in July, only six units shy of its record sales in July 2024.
Even Hino, which has been weathering some dark times in regards to product availability as a result of the ongoing issues with the emission and fuel consumptions scandals it has had to endure, had some pleasant light at the end of the tunnel, selling 398 units in July a seven per cent rise on its result in the same month last year.
However with supply issues to for Hino predicted to worsen in coming months it will be a matter of making hay while the sun-shines for the perennial number two brand.
Kenworth had another remarkable month having moved 270 trucks, all of them heavy duty models to be placed third in overall sales and a clear winner in heavy duty. Kenworth’s result was a little down on the 283 heavy duty trucks it sold in July 2024, but still an impressive result when compared with its heavy duty rival Volvo which only managed 185 sales in total, with all but two of these being heavy duty models.
In the past few years the Swedish truck maker had harboured desires to beat Kenworth for the heavy duty title in Australia, but while it has come close on several occasions, it won’t be happening this year, with Volvo trailing Kenworth year to date by almost 550 truck, with the American Paccar brand holding a dominant position with five months remaining in the year.
Volvo did however have a small glimmer of hope in heavy duty, having finally outsold Isuzu in the heavy sector after several months of being trounced by the Japanese number one in heavy duty.
Fuso was fourth overall in sales , not far behind Kenworth but well ahead of Volvo, with Scania next best on 93 sales, Iveco on 92, Fiat on 83, Mercedes on 80 while Mack rounded out the top ten on 73 sales for the month.
While Kenworth smashed everyone out of the park in heavy duty, Volvo marginally edged Isuzu by just four trucks, 183 to 179, while Scania was fourth on 93 heavies, with Mack next on 74, Fuso on 65 heavies, Mercedes on 59 and Hino on 53, while DAF on 32 and MAN on 30 rounded out the top ten heavy brands.
Isuzu easily dominated medium duty capturing 50.3 per cent share of the sector with 267 mediums moved in July, well ahead of rival Hino on 166, while Fuso fell well short in third place with just 63 medium sales in July. Way behind in fourth in mediums was Iveco with a meagre 11 mediums for the month, while Korean maker Hyundai was next best with eight medium sales, two units ahead of Mercedes which managed six units. UD on four, DAF on three, Volvo on two and MAN on one rounding out the medium tally.
If we thought Isuzu blasted the others out of the water in medium duty, it was even more dominant in light duty. Isuzu moved 626 ‘tiddlers’ in July o take 51.4 per cent of the sector, compared with the next best in Hino, that could only manage a sector share of 14.5 per cent with 177 sales in the small truck sector.
Fuso was next best in light duty, with 117 sales in the sector for July, while Fiat, Iveco, Renault and VW barely bothered the scorer with double sales figures for the top 11.
Foton Mobility, the Chinese electric truck seller was eight overall in light duty with an impressive 19 sales, all electric, putting it ahead of Hyundai, LDV, Mercedes and Ford in the baby truck market
In Vans Mercedes’ Sprinter models dominated the ‘closed in ‘ market, registering 277 units in July, streeting its upstart Chineses rival LDV which could only manage 153 sales to be second , while Ford was the only other van brand to top the ton, selling 128 Transits to be third.
It will be fascinating to watch the truck sales figures over the next few months with interest rates dropping and a degree of optimism returning to the market
