Volvo, last year’s early heavy-duty pacesetter, bounced back from a relatively sluggish April to sit second only to Kenworth in the latest sales figures from Truck Industry Council (TIC).
The Wacol-based manufacturer shifted an impressive 152 units last month, up from a modest 106 in April, to sit just 29 shy of Kenworth on 181.
May wasn’t Kenworth’s best month considering it sold 200 units in April, but the Bayswater behemoth still has a stranglehold on top honours for 2021 with 878 sales vs Volvo’s overall tally of 572.
The pair has now opened up a handy lead on the chasers led by Isuzu which recorded 132 sales for May and sits on 512 year-to-date (YTD).
After leapfrogging into second place in April with 131 units, Scania was a notable mover in the other direction in May with 105 sales to claim fourth place.
That leaves the Swedish brand back in fifth position overall with 454 YTD, just in behind Mercedes-Benz which notched 99 sales for May and now sits fourth in the 2021 race with 457 units.
Of the others, UD had more to celebrate than most with a solid 44 sales, up from 29 the previous month, to sit in 10th overall with 173 trucks moved YTD.
In the medium-duty sector a good battle is developing between Isuzu and Hino, with daylight back to the rest.
Isuzu still has the lead YTD – 1050 vs. 956 – but Hino isn’t out of this fight after recording another big month with 241 sales, just eight short of Isuzu’s total for May.
In the light-duty world, however, it’s a completely different story with Isuzu fans clearly capitalising on the many Covid stimulus packages and storming dealerships in numbers rarely seen.
Isuzu notched a staggering 480 sales in May – 41.2% of the total for the sector – to gap Hino on second with a still very respectable 294 light-duty total.
With so much light-duty power, Isuzu is crushing it overall, 3683 versus Hino’s 2442, with Fuso the only other badge out of triple digits for 2021 on 1611.
With earlier supply constraints easing, TIC CEO Tony McMullan says it continues to be a good time to place that truck order.
“Not only are there significant financial incentives still on offer by the Australian government through to mid-2022, manufacturing and supply of trucks should witness a resurgence over that same period,” he told Prime Mover Magazine.