MARKET REPORT: The Australian truck market continues to boom like never before as the demand for new trucks tests the supply lines and delivery schedules of local manufacturers and fully imported brands alike, particularly in the white hot heavy-duty sector
Several years of sustained growth have led to an astonishing 2022 half-year result in sales of new trucks on the Australian market, with most truck suppliers working flat-strap to keep up with demand.
In light, medium and heavy-duty classes, a total of 18,394 units were delivered in the first six months of 2022, buoyed by astonishing sales in June totalling 4342 deliveries across the three weight segments.
As the Truck Industry Council (TIC) noted in its monthly report, ‘June 2022 saw a number of records broken for new truck sales in Australia.’ Notably, the last month of the financial year was a stellar time for the heavy-duty sector with 1594 units delivered, breaking the previous June record of 1433 units set in 2018.
Up to the end of June, 6916 heavy-duty trucks had been delivered for the year, setting the scene for a spectacular, record-breaking full-year result if demand continues at its current rate.
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Isuzu maintained top spot in the light and medium sectors
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While the medium-duty sector was again the least lucrative in overall numbers, year-to-date sales of 3961 units were up 12 percent on the previous year’s figures.
In volume terms, however, the light-duty market was the biggest of all with 7517 units delivered in the first six months of the year.
It is no surprise, of course, that Isuzu remains absolutely dominant in both medium and light-duty classes, as well as overall market leader with a powerful presence in the heavy-duty category despite the absence of a dedicated prime mover range. Indeed, with Isuzu Australia delivering more than 6000 units across all three weight categories in the first six months, the Japanese brand’s prospects for cracking more than 12,000 sales in 2022 are now looking increasingly likely.
In the light-duty league, Isuzu held 43.6 percent of the category for the year to the end of June, more than 20 points ahead of perennial bridesmaid Hino, fighting hard to withstand the ever-present challenge of third placegetter Fuso.
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UD was a bullet performer for the first half of 2022
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The rankings are the same in the medium-duty contest, though the gap between first and second isn’t quite so pronounced with Isuzu holding a formidable 44.4 percent of the segment at the end of June and Hino maintaining a highly respectable 31.7 percent due to the success of its new and exceptionally well-equipped 500-series line-up. From there it’s a long way back to Fuso on 16.2 percent while the best of the rest the medium-duty rankings is UD on 2.3 percent.
Heavy hitters
Just as Isuzu’s domination of the overall truck market has become historically entrenched, Kenworth’s command of the heavy-duty sector now appears to be similarly ingrained.
After a spectacular June result which saw Kenworth deliver almost 300 units in the month, its first-half figures amounted to 1420 trucks, giving the Australian-built brand a solid 20.5 percent take of the total heavy-duty market.
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Scania enjoyed a merry month in June
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It’s worth noting that up to the end of June, the heavy-duty sector was up 19.4 percent compared to the same period last year.
For second placegetter Volvo, the buoyant market is a panacea for the supply and production issues which have beleaguered the Australian operation (Volvo, Mack, UD) since the emergence of Covid.
However, as we first revealed several months ago, Volvo Group Australia (VGA) initiated a number of bold moves, not least the importation of completely built-up (CBU) models from overseas Volvo factories including Saudi Arabia, to shore up production shortfalls at its Wacol (Qld) factory, meet customer delivery schedules and critically, make the most of bountiful market conditions.
With many of the CBU units hitting the market in June, Volvo was able to deliver 266 trucks in the month, pushing it year-to-date deliveries to 1021 units for a much healthier 14.8 percent stake of the heavy-duty sector and in the process, relegating Isuzu back to third position on 14.6 percent.
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For the Australian market, Freightliner’s Cascadia has yet to match the high standing it holds in the US
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These top three brands accounted for a fraction under 50 percent of the entire heavy-duty market at the end of June. There were, however, some notable achievements among the remaining competitors.
Scania, for instance, enjoyed a strong June performance with 128 trucks delivered in the month, notching fourth position at the year’s halfway mark with a respectable 7.0 percent of the market on the delivery of 483 trucks.
Yet the biggest bullet performer of all was the UD brand. Often viewed as the underling in VGA’s trio of truck brands, UD delivered 125 trucks in June to take its year-to-date deliveries to 460 units for a 6.7 percent take of the heavy-duty category, comfortably surpassing Mack on a modest 5.6 percent.
Despite strong market conditions, there were nonetheless a number of somewhat modest performances in the six months to the end of June.
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Mercedes-Benz failed to capitalise on the momentum of previous years
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Mercedes-Benz, for instance, appears to have lost some momentum after several years of strong sales. At the end of June, the brand accounted for just 5.5 percent of the market on the delivery of 377 units.
Likewise, corporate colleague Freightliner appears to be struggling to make much headway with its Cascadia conventional, delivering 225 units to the end of June, accounting for 3.3 percent of the heavy-duty sector.
Meantime, Paccar’s DAF also appears to have fallen off the pace, delivering 256 units for 3.7 percent of the category at the halfway mark of 2022.
In the corporate contest, VGA is at the top of the tree with its three brands holding 27.1 percent of the heavy-duty class, followed by Paccar’s Kenworth and DAF with 24.2 percent, and the Daimler Trucks trio of Mercedes-Benz, Fuso and Freightliner well back on 13.8 percent, or 15.9 percent if Western Star is gathered into the group.