Heavy-duty sector fails to live up to previous years’ efforts as light-duty marches on
Heavy-duty truck sales are making every post a winner, month on month, so far this year but the opposite is true, year on year, since 2010.
This March’s 795 total was better only than the 754 six years ago in the depths of the global financial crisis aftermath, Truck Industry Council (TIC) T-Mark sales figures show.
Despite that, heavy-duty sales are growing this year, from 438 in January and 671 in February.
Neither the TIC nor the individual manufacturers ATN approached would be drawn on whether the Contractor Driver Minimum Payments Road Safety Remuneration Order (RSRO) was having an effect on sales, though one owner-driver has volunteered to ATN that he has kept his hands in his pockets due to concern about the order and asset finance brokers say they are fielding great related unease amongst their smaller clients.
Overall, however, the picture could barely be rosier, with 2669 commercial vehicles sold.
This was the best month for the quarter and, this decade, it gave ground only to last March’s 2893.
Of the big bangers, Kenworth held ground on the previous month at 157 March units, up seven, as did Volvo, up eight to 132. But the big mover was Isuzu, rising 27 units to 96, while Mercedes-Benz added 18 units to 51. But most makes were down compared with March 2015.
Medium-duty sales topped the year at 531 units but were the second worst this decade year on year.
But the strength of the light-duty sector was undiminished, with March’s 909 total top for the year and the decade so far. Isuzu made the running up from 247 the previous March to 361 last month.
In vans, what has been normal service was resumed with Mercedes-Benz pushing Renault back to second, 170 units to 98, after February’s upstart effort, when Renault’s were seen sporting Australia Post livery.