Australian truck market rebuilds through Q2 2026
News
4 min read
Share this article:
News
10 min read
After a rough start to the quarter, volumes climbed through May and June, and June brought the strongest result of the year so far. The gap to 2025’s record pace never really closed, but the direction of travel tells a more useful story for dealers than the headline number alone.
April started the quarter on the back foot, posting the steepest year-on-year decline of the six months recorded so far in 2026. What followed was two months of steady month-on-month recovery, capped by an end of financial year rush that gave the market its best month since 2025.
April delivered 2,871 new trucks and vans, down 16 per cent on April 2025 and the steepest monthly decline of the year so far. Diesel prices, still elevated by the ongoing global oil crisis, kept pressure on operator budgets, and the medium-duty and van segments bore the brunt of it. One bright spot did emerge, with light-duty trucks posting the first positive year-on-year result of 2026.
May brought a turnaround, with 3,351 deliveries representing a 16.7 per cent lift on April. The year-on-year comparison remained tough at 14.5 per cent down on May 2025, but the month-on-month recovery gave dealers a genuine signal that appetite was returning, particularly in the van segment, which surged more than 50 per cent on April’s total.
June closed the quarter with a flourish. End of financial year deals pushed deliveries to 4,172, a 24.5 per cent jump on May and the strongest single month of 2026. The year-on-year gap held at 14.6 per cent, so the EOFY rush didn’t erase the underlying softness, but it did confirm that fleet renewal activity is still very much alive when the timing and the offer are right.
Across the three months, the market recorded 10,394 deliveries, taking the first-half total to 19,526 units, down 13.5 per cent on the 22,582 achieved over the same period in 2025.
Heavy-duty continued to be the segment operators trust most, closing the quarter with 1,347 deliveries in June alone, its best month of the year and a clear step up from April’s 1,005 and May’s 1,093. Year-on-year declines stayed in single digits throughout (9.5, 6.7 and 9.0 per cent), reinforcing that fleet renewal in this space is holding up better than almost anywhere else in the market.
The real story this quarter was at the top of the leaderboard. Kenworth kept its lead across all three months, but Volvo closed the distance steadily, finishing June just 12 units behind with 237 deliveries against Kenworth’s 249. Isuzu held a consistent third, while Scania, Mercedes-Benz and UD Trucks all had strong months among the European and Japanese challengers. For dealers carrying either of the top two brands, that tightening contest is worth watching closely heading into the second half.
There’s no getting around it: medium-duty remains the toughest part of the market. Year-on-year declines stayed above 38 per cent in every month of the quarter, easily the sharpest contraction of any segment, even as raw volumes ticked up from 360 in April to 468 by June.
Isuzu’s grip on the segment didn’t loosen, accounting for well over half of all medium-duty sales each month and closing June with 264 deliveries. Fuso held a clear second, and Hino rounded out the podium. The underlying trend is structural rather than seasonal: operators are increasingly choosing heavy-duty trucks for higher-capacity work or light-duty trucks for urban runs, and the middle ground keeps shrinking as a result. For dealers with medium-duty inventory on the ground, getting ahead of that conversation with fleet buyers is worth more than waiting for the enquiry to land.
Light-duty was the segment to watch this quarter, swinging from the year’s first positive result in April (up 1.8 per cent) to a 17.4 per cent year-on-year dip in May, before roaring back in June with a 39.6 per cent month-on-month jump to 1,256 units. That June result narrowed the year-on-year gap to just 5.7 per cent, easily the smallest of any segment for the month.
Isuzu led the category in every month of the quarter, closing June with 507 deliveries and a 40 per cent share of the segment. Hino had an outstanding June in second place with 319 sales, and Fuso rounded out the top three. Urban delivery and last-mile logistics remain the demand driver keeping this segment more resilient than most, and dealers positioned in that space are clearly benefitting from it.
The van segment (3.5-tonne GVM and above) had the most volatile quarter of any category, and ultimately the most encouraging one. April was rough, down 25.9 per cent year-on-year on 618 deliveries, but May brought a 52.9 per cent month-on-month surge to 945 units, and June added a further 16.5 per cent to reach 1,101, the segment’s best month of the year.
Mercedes-Benz held the top spot throughout the quarter, closing June with 301 deliveries, while LDV stayed in a consistent second, finishing on 277. Ford held third place across all three months. With EOFY purchasing clearly a factor behind June’s strength, dealers in this space should expect some of that momentum to ease into Q3, though the underlying demand from last-mile and urban operators looks set to continue.
Two straight months of month-on-month recovery is a welcome trend after April’s low point, and June’s result shows there’s real appetite in the market when the timing lines up. The year-on-year gap hasn’t meaningfully narrowed across any of the six months recorded so far in 2026, and elevated diesel prices will keep testing operator budgets for a while yet.
What is noticeable from the results is that heavy-duty, light-duty and van buyers have all shown they’re ready to act when the offer is right, and that’s a solid foundation to build on. For dealers, the second half of 2026 is shaping up as a opportunity to turn that renewed confidence shown over the last few months into genuine momentum.
Share this article:
Disclaimer:
The information presented in this article is true and correct at the time of publishing. business.carsales.com.au does not warrant or represent that the information is free from errors or omissions. The content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice. For more details on our editorial standards and ethical guidelines, please visit our Editorial Guide Lines.
