FCAI figures show malaise being felt in lighter vans as well
The trajectory of the latest monthly new truck and heavy van sales figures are a deepening concern to the Truck Industry Council (TIC).
August’s figures mark a 35 per cent fall from where the market was two years ago, TIC points out.
But the market’s performance also not quite uniform, with the lighter end bearing the brunt.
“The August result continues the trend that has been building over the past few months, though the declining sales in the Medium truck and Light truck and van sectors appear to be accelerating,” TIC CEO Tony McMullan observes.
“Economic conditions in Australia continue to worsen with our economy now in a technical recession for the first time in 29 years, due entirely to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There is also no doubt that August heavy vehicle sales have been directly impacted by the worsening Covid situation in Victoria in July and August.
“With signs that conditions in Victoria are improving, we hope to see truck and van sales recover a little in September and October, over the August result lows.
“I am pleased to see that for the first time in a number of months that the Heavy truck segment, though still noticeably down, outperformed the other heavy vehicle sectors.
“Australia faces a long road ahead, however, I have no doubt that the truck industry will continue to provide the essential road freight services required during these difficult times.
“The Truck Industry Council and our members will continue to play our part in keeping those wheels turning.”
Read how truck sales performed in August, here
Light duty truck sales have been consistent, but down, when compared with 2019 results, however the segment has performed better than all others so far this year, the council notes.
“The August result was therefore somewhat alarming with a single month drop of 17.5 per cent (-180 trucks), that being almost three times as great as the yearly percentage trend to the end of August,” it says.
“That year-to-date deficit is running at -6.4 percent, amounting to 488 less light duty truck sales in 2020 compared to 2019. A total of 849 trucks were sold in the month of August, while the total Light Duty truck tally for the year thus far is 7,093.
“Van sales in August took an even bigger hit than their light duty trucks cousins, down 27.6 per cent for the month.
That equates to 176 fewer Van sales in August 2020 compared to the same month last year, a total of 462 vans were sold for the month.
“The August Van sales result was more than four times worse that the year-to-date percentage trend of -6.6 percent. Year-to-date 4,021 new van sales have been recorded to the end of August, that is down 284 sales over the same period in 2019,” TIC says.
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) through the national VFACTS report shows light commercial van sales falling 17.9 per cent on July and 16.3 per cent year to date (YTD) compared with last year.
For mid-size vans, the figures were falls of 24.7 per cent and 8.6 per cent.
In light vans, VW Caddy continues to rule the roost at 114 units for August and 1,073 YTD, plus a market share of around 70 per cent. Next best is Renault Kangoo with less than a quarter of that.
Things are slightly more spread in medium vans – but only slightly.
Here Toyota HiAce bosses the market with 413/4,018 and just below 37 per cent of the market. Second place goes to Hyundai iLoad’s 274/2,056. Only Ford’s Transit Custom has been in a position to challenge for second place but it had a bad month, seeling only 67 units, less than LDV G10 at 92.
Across the total light commercial range, including utes, the fall were 35.9 per cent and 16.9 per cent.