Overall numbers may have dipped slightly on last year’s record start to the year, but Isuzu had plenty to celebrate when the latest truck sales were tallied for the first quarter of 2025.
According to the most recent Truck Industry Council’s (TIC) records, Isuzu notched 1107 deliveries for March, boosting its year-to-date (YTD) overall market share to 28 per cent, up 2 per cent on the same YTD total last year.
Isuzu, which officially launched its 2025 range this month, also muscled its way into second spot overall in the heavy-duty sector with 249 units rolling out the dealership gates in March.
That puts the Japanese powerhouse, the number one badge in Australia for the last 36 consecutive years, 20 clear of Volvo in the YTD race for second – 589 versus 569 – with Kenworth already taking a firm grip on the top spot.
Kenworth recorded 302 deliveries in March and now has a YTD total of 766, or a 22.7 per cent market share, up from 18.5 per cent for the first quarter of 2024.
The only other notable performers in the heavies for the month were Scania, which put a small gap on nearest challenger Mercedes-Benz for the fourth spot with 91 units versus 69, and Hino, better known for its smaller trucks, recording a very respectable 70 units for March.
Overall, TIC said 4125 new trucks and vans were sold during the month, marking a 4.9 per cent decrease compared to March 2024.
Despite this year-over-year decline, the cumulative first-quarter sales totalled 10,356 units, positioning it as the third-best performance on record for an opening quarter.
Given the potential financial market volatility that the industry has historically seen in a federal election year, TIC CEO Tony McMullan said the current heavy vehicle market’s strength and resilience is pleasing to note.
“However, this will no doubt be tested over the course of the next few months leading up to and beyond the May 3 election,” McMullan said.
Overall, the heavy-duty segment experienced the biggest dip in March with a total of 1363 units delivered, down noticeably, 11.1 per cent ( or 170 trucks), on March, 2024.
The first quarter result is marginally better, still in negative territory though, with 3380 heavy sales YTD, representing just a 10.8 per cent decline (-408 trucks) over quarter one 2024 sales.
The medium-duty segment posted solid sales in 2024, however the segment is down like all others in 2025. The March 2025 result saw total sales of 623 medium trucks, down 4.6 per cent, (-30 units), on March 2024.
At the end of quarter one a total of 1664 medium duty trucks have been delivered, that is down by 4.4 per cent (-77 trucks) over the 2024 tally.
Light-duty truck sales (those with a GVM between 3500kg and 8000kg) saw record sales in 2023, fading slightly in 2024.
Those slowing sales in 2024 have carried through into 2025 with new sales in the light truck market shrinking a little more in quarter one with 1177 trucks delivered for the month, down 7.4 per cent (-94 trucks) over March 2024.
For the quarter, light-duty truck sales lag those of the same period last year also by 7.4 per cent, that equates to 235 less lights sold in 2025 compared with quarter one 2024.