The truck Industry Council’s T-Mark sales figures for what it labels as, the “Alternate Power and Fueled” sector of the Australian truck market, reveal that Hino has topped the sales charts with its Hybrid models, selling 185 of the diesel electric models in the 12 months to the end of December, representing about four per cent of the Japanese truck makers sales in Australia last year.
Hino is the only truck maker selling a Hybrid model in Australia at the moment so all of its opponents in the are basically battery electric models at this stage with second place in the sector going to Chinese electric truck brand, Foton Mobility, which registered 68 of its battery electric light duty trucks last year. The majority of Foton’s sales were to fleet operators, most particularly Woolworths for its ubiquitous home delivery fleet and leading Ikea contractor, Australian National Couriers (ANC).
Volvo was next best registering 48 of its battery electric models across the overall market with the majority of these in the medium duty sector with 31 trucks registered along with 17 heavy duty Volvo electrics.
Hino’s product break-up included 163 light duty 300 Series hybrids as well as 22 medium duty hybrids for the year.
Hyundai was fourth in the overall category registering 21 of its battery Electric machines, while Fuso scored 20 sales for its battery electric eCanter
Next best behind Volvo in heavy duty electrics was Scania which registers four of its zero emission models, while the now defunct Sea Electric registered three trucks, presumably early in 2025 before its demise. In fact Sea Electric bobs up in sixth with a total of 12 trucks, despite no longer being in existence in this market.
Hino has pushed harder on its Hybrid throttle in recent times, marketing it as the best ‘bridging technology’ between traditional internal combustion diesel engines and full electric.
In the alternative fuel heavy van sector Ford led the way registering 69 of its eTransits to outstrip Chinese rival LDV which saw 21 of its battery electric Deliver9s registered, while Mercedes-Benz registered six of its electric Sprinters, while Iveco was at the back of the pack with a single Daily electric van and a single Daily electric cab/chassis truck for the year.
It will be fascinating to track the growth of alternative fuel commercials over the next few years as we head toward a more zero emission future.
