After months of truck manufacturers predicting the continued record sales would begin to ease, the final result for May 2008
After months of truck manufacturers predicting the continued record sales would begin to ease, the final result for May 2008 suggests the bubble may be starting to deflate.
While the total sales for reached a solid 3203 vehicles, it fell short of the May 2007 figure of 3300, a sign for the first time the market may be softening slightly under the impacts of rising fuel prices and interest rates.
Following the pattern of virtually two decades, Isuzu remains the top-selling brand nationally, with over 800 units retailed during May alone, literally streets ahead of nearest rival Hino.
With respective monthly tallies of 824 and 538, Isuzu and Hino are well clear of every other manufacturer, with Mitsubishi Fuso their nearest competitor, recording 348 sales for the month.
As expected, Isuzu dominates the sales results for both medium and light duty trucks, followed by Hino and Fuso in both cases, while the minor places are taken by UD, Iveco, Mercedes, DAF and MAN in medium duty and Iveco, FIAT, Ford, Mercedes and Volkswagen in the light duty market.
In the heavy duty sector, the song remains the same, with Kenworth again comfortable ahead of its nearest rival, Western Star, 207 units to 106.
However it is the increasing popularity of the Japanese manufacturers that has set industry tongues wagging, with Isuzu third outright after delivering 99 new heavy trucks during the month of May, while Hino is also making its presence felt, with 33 trucks finding new owners.
Sandwiched between these two stellar performers are a number of European and US manufacturers, including Volvo (74) and Mack (62), while the 103 units sold by Freightliner pushes them up to sixth, followed by Iveco (66), International (41) and Mitsubishi Fuso (38).
Also selling well was Sterling (49), while Scania’s 23 sales gave thema year-to-date total of 134, the same as Mercedes, who sold 43 trucks during the month.
UD sold 17 units, bringing their overall total to 132, while MAN sold 21 and PACCAR brand DAF sold 15 trucks.