MAN’s huge sales figure for June is down to a mix of defence force deliveries as well as some fleet and retail sales according to Penske Commercial Vehicles
Last month MAN registered 106 units according to VFACTS figures, split evenly between medium and heavy duty trucks.
Investigating the 999 per cent growth on the same month last year, Truck and Bus News asked Penske Commercial Vehicles about the factors contributing to the exponential increase.
The response from a Penske spokesperson confirmed partial fulfilment of the company’s military contract with. the Australian army made up a part of the big increase in June deliveries.
“The great figures in June were due to a mixture of fleet and retail sales with customers embracing the technology, safety and fuel economy benefits that the MAN product offering delivers. We also delivered military units to the Australian arm forces,” Talevska said.
As part of the Australian Defence Force’s Project Land 121 Phase 3B program announced in 2013, Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles Australia (RMMVA) will supply a total of 2,536 trucks worth $1.6 billion.
RMMVA’s contract is across the complete range of combinations including 4×4, 6×6, 8×8 and 10×10 vehicles featuring cranes, trays, tippers, vehicle recovery systems, fuel and water storage modules, heavy tractors and a heavy integrated load handling system.
The Australian Defence Force began taking deliveries of its new MAN trucks in April last year, with deliveries ramping up considerably in late May and June this year as the trucks begun to be distributed to army units. The contract is expected to be fulfilled in 2020.
While the supply deal was awarded to German based company Rhienmetall Defence, Penske Commercial Vehicles will play a role in the deal by way of vehicle integration and parts support.
Truck and Bus News also believes a number of sales were also to Penske’s rental company ahead of the launch of its recently announced Perth branch.
“Penske Truck Rental (PTR) recently announced that operations will commence in Perth shortly, so we are working with PTR to deliver MAN trucks for that location. MAN has proven to be very popular with PTR customers,” said Talevska.
MAN has also recently delivered fleet contracts to Goldstar Transport in Perth and GTS Freight Management in Mildura.
Penske Commercial Vehicles remains optimistic it will continue its steady private and fleet sales stream for the remainder of the year with strong interest in the new TGX-D38 model.
“Penske’s forward orders look robust for the remainder of the year and our pipeline of opportunities is encouraging,” Talveska added.
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