Scania Australia is entering the truck rental market in Australia, starting in Victoria
By Gary Worrall | September 1, 2010
Following in the footsteps of Scania in Great Britain, Scania Australia is entering the truck rental market in Australia.
In a first for truck manufacturers in Australia, Scania will have a rental fleet of prime movers available for short to medium hire periods.
All vehicles in the newly formed rental fleet will be Euro 5 compliant and a selection of Scania Sleeper Cab models will be available.
The launch program begins in Victoria, followed by New South Wales and Queensland, with rental periods available from 1 to 24 months.
Scania Australia Managing Director Roger McCarthy says customers will have the advantage of nationwide breakdown assistance and fully paid prime mover registration.
“This means our customers need only supply fuel, insurance and a driver to get themselves on the road,” McCarthy says.
“Our market research tells us there is a clear demand for a premium truck rental product directly from a premium truck manufacturer.”
McCarthy says Scania operates successful truck rental schemes in a number of markets worldwide, and he is confident Australian operators will take advantage of the benefits on offer.
“Scania Truck Rental should prove attractive to operators who have a need for expansion of their Prime Mover fleets to meet peak demand, as well as to those operators looking for long-term flexibility in their vehicle fleets.
“All Scanias in our truck rental fleet will have a maximum of a 24-month age profile, and will be maintained in prime condition by our Scania network.”
McCarthy says the rental scheme is another element of the Scania Total Transport Solution, which aims to provide a full purchase-to-disposal life-cycle service for fleets, whether they are large or small.
“Scania Truck Rental has already achieved success on the Australian market,” he says.
“In fact, a contract was secured for 12 Scanias within days of confirming the programme.”
As well as offering customers an opportunity to ‘try before they buy’, the rental scheme will also provide Scania with a ready supply of near-new trucks for the second hand market.
With a full factory service history and relatively low kilometres, McCarthy is confident this will allow Scania to enter the lucrative used truck market with newer models rather higher kilometre, older model stock.