The April monthly TIC truck sales have seen another strong performance with sales up on result from April last year, although a little behind the results from March this year.
The industry saw 3613 trucks and vans sold in April, 310 units more than April 2022 but 561 trucks ahead of the stellar result in March. Despite this the market is still tracking 16 per cent or 1948 trucks ahead of the year to date tally at the end of April 2022.
Isuzu led the market again with 1032 sales for the month and an overall market share of 28.6 per cent, 100 units ahead of its result in the same month last year. Hino continues to return to strength after its sever supply issues last year and finished April wit 525 sales to its credit and 14.5 per cent share, while Fuso was third overall with 396 sales and 11 per cent share.
Volvo again outstripped its heavy duty rival Kenworth in what continues to be a tight fight between the heavy duty heavyweights, with Volvo selling 249 units to Kenworth’s 231. The result has helped Volvo edge ahead in the year to date tally, now leading Kenworth by 25 units in the four months to the end of April.
Iveco was sixth in the sales charts in April with 137 sales, while Mercedes was next best with 130 trucks. Scania fell just short of the ton with 96 sales to finish the month eighth overall, with UD next on 88 sales, one unit ahead of Mack on 87, the best result for the Bulldog in many months to round out the top ten.
With Volvo and Kenworth being the headline acts in heavy duty, Isuzu posted another stunning result in the heavy sector to be third with 192 sales in the sector in April, while Scania was fourth with 96 units, Mack in fifth with 87 and Mercedes next with 77 heavies.
In a near photo finish for seventh, Hino and Fuso finished the month on 77 units each while their Japanese rival UD finished just one unit behind on 76, with DAF round out the top ten with 63.
In medium duty Isuzu was again the dominant force taking almost half the sales in the sector for the month with 304 medium duty trucks and 49.9 per cent share. That result also saw Isuzu beat its rival Hino by better than two to one for the month, with Hino registering 150 medium duty for 24.6 per cent share.
Fuso was third in mediums with 118 for 19.4 per cent share and the only other make to break 100, in fact finishing the month 102 units ahead of fourth placed UD with 16 sales . Behind Fuso it was all single figures in medium duty, with Mercedes selling six units, Hyundai five, Iveco and SEA four each and MAN and Volvo one each.
In light duty Isuzu took a slightly more modest 42 per cent share of the sector with 536 sales, comfortably ahead of Hino on 302 units and Fuso on 205. Iveco was the next best with 113 Daily light duties, well ahead of Renault with 50 , Mercedes 47, Hyundai 14, VW 5 Renault 4 and a single truck for Ford.
The van sector saw Mercedes blitzed it with 191 Sprinter sales in April for 42.4 per cent share in the sector, well clear of the 110 Renault Master sales and the 57 Daily van sales for Iveco in third. The rest of the van market was carved up between Fiat with 31, Ford with 22 and Renault on 21. Van sales are also well ahead of where they were this time last year , up 29.5 per cent or 400 units on the year to date tally at this point in time.
While sales continue to stay solid, many pundits are predicting a softening in the second half of the year after the 100 per cent instant asset write off program wraps up at the end of June and as the effects of rising interest rates start to bite. Until then the commercial vehicle market continues to make hay while the sun is shining.