Scania hails truck sales and strengthens used truck, rental, fleet support and aftersales operations
Scania is shrugging off an otherwise soft market, hailing its truck sales for the year to December and pushing ahead with service offerings.
While happy to highlight its 573 unit sales up to the end of November, up from 509 last year and 396 the year before, the truck-maker was also moving to strengthen its used truck, rental, fleet support and aftersales operations.
“As we look forward into 2014, Scania will continue to develop sustainable business, entrenching our products and services with existing and new customers,” Scania Australia Managing Director Roger McCarthy.
“We have taken a good look at our operations over the past three years and we have identified where we need to expand our service footprint to better support customers, both old and new.”
A management team decision has seen more focus on the used truck trade.
“It’s important for us as we develop … new customers, we are taking non-Scania products in part-exchange and retailing those trucks here in Australia, alongside our own vehicles, of course.”
Underlining the theme, State Manager for Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania Gerard Martin will become Used Trucks Sales Director from January 1 after the section doubled its sales organisation during the year with a view to retailing 350-400 used vehicles next year.
On the rental side, the local arm has board approval to raise its rental fleet from 100 to 150 and is opened new offices in Melbourne next month to join those in Sydney and Brisbane.
Mining is proving a useful outlet, with 28 prime movers being delivered in New South Wales to bulk haulage firm Bis Industries for its Whitehaven Coal contract. Scania is also looking after truck and trailer maintenance there.
McCarthy states that 70 per cent of its national fleet deals now include full repair and maintenance contracting and the firm recorded its 1,000 truck under the program this year.
In after sales, Scania has added new independent dealers at key locations where service representation was in need of improvement in the wake of increased new vehicle sales.
This has led to new dealers opening in Port Macquarie and Wollongong in NSW, Warrnambool in Victoria and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, throughout the year, with additional service points to be announced next year.
Technology will also be a focus, including on emissions in urban environments, a theme that carries over from last year.
“It is somewhat ironic that while urban public transport vehicles are generally among the cleanest operating in Australia, the trucks that ply city streets are generally among the oldest and least environmentally-friendly,” McCarthy says.