Figures still strong but foot slips from accelerator in April
Rampant 2017 truck sales growth stalled last month but remains very healthy comparatively, according to Truck Industry Council (TIC) T-Mark figures.
At 2,517 commercial vehicles for April, the total is down on March’s bumper 2,962 but is still the second best month for the calendar year and is just five units down on the previous April, the decade record.
This appears to be a seasonal movement, with a March peak seen in the previous two years.
This year, on a total numbers basis, Isuzu added two units on April 2016 for 664, but perennial challengers Hino and, especially, Fuso slipped.
The heavy-duty segment added five units on the previous April for a 750 total.
Kenworth was down four units year-on-year for the month, Volvo stayed at 110 but Isuzu fell 11 to 89, Scania was down 17 units to 41 and Fuso lost 22 to hit 23.
Interestingly, less-heralded makes took up the slack, with Mercedes-Benz more than doubling from 22 to 50, UD doubling to 26, Western Star up 15 to 36, MAN up 11 to 34, DAF up four to 26 and Dennis Eagle shooting out of single figures, from eight to 23.
Bucking the March peak totals trend, as it did last year, medium duty continued to build, rising nine units from March to 563, with Isuzu adding 10 while Hino lost 11 to 179 and Fuso gained 12 to 84.
Indeed, the medium duty recorded its second-best April for the decade, topped only by 2010’s 592 in a slow and not entirely steady build since 2011’s 401.
March was a peak for light duty, with April slipping 110 units in April after a rise of epic proportions from February’s 465.
Here, Fiat held out, up 12 units to 45 while Mercedes-Benz held level at 14 as others subsided.
Compared with previous Aprils, at 813, the segment was down 24 units from last year’s decade high, with Isuzu consolidating in the 300s, up 16 to 320, while Fuso and Hino were unable to last year’s solid figures.