TALKIN’ THE Torque
As 2021 drew to a close, sales numbers were looking exceptionally good for Scania Australia. The strong likelihood was that it would be another record result, eclipsing the previous best performance of 1,140 deliveries achieved just two years earlier.
It wasn’t to be, though. Not quite! A poor month in December took a sliver of gloss off an otherwise strong year, with Truck Industry Council (TIC) figures showing Scania finishing 2021 with 1,129 deliveries for 8.7% of the total heavy-duty truck market.
Agonisingly, just 11 units shy of the brand’s best ever result but, given all the problematic pandemic-related issues, still an undeniably positive performance in a year of continuing challenges. Or so you’d think.
Despite the brand’s resilience after the Covid-constrained results of 2020, there are those in Scania Australia who justifiably assert last year’s result could have, and indeed should have, been better. Significantly better, and it’s easy to appreciate their reasons for feeling a tad frustrated by 2021’s figures, even if those same numbers a few years ago would have had company insiders happier than a flea at a dog show.
So, why the subdued smiles after such a strong result? Well, there are several contributing factors but perhaps the most fundamental is that the Australian heavy-duty truck market is running hot and demand for new trucks (bolstered by a federal government instant asset write-off scheme) is dramatically greater than supply, meaning it’s much easier to take orders for new trucks
