1387. That’s the number of buses and coaches delivered to operators around Australia in 2023. It’s a number that highlights a remarkable effort from the entire industry over the past 12 months, surpassing 2022’s annual deliveries number of 1132 easily.
With an average of just under 116 deliveries per month, the bar was certainly raised by suppliers and manufacturers in 2023.
In the chassis sector, Volvo was once again far and away the market leader for 2023, recording an outstanding 418 deliveries for the year and peaking with 67 units delivered in March. The dramatic rise of Yutong was on full display last year, with the emerging brand finishing second with 220 chassis delivered, just ahead of third placed Scania with 207. The top three was easily clear of BCI in fourth with 108 units, while Mercedes-Benz rounded out the top five with 101 deliveries. King Long (83) and Custom Denning (72) both recorded strongly in 2023, staying ahead of MAN (50) and BYD (45) to finish the top 10 for 2023, with BLK (30) sitting just outside.
There were no surprises behind the top end of the body builder market for 2023, with Volgren reigning supreme with 375 deliveries for the year. Yutong came in second with 220, while Irizar (171) stayed ahead of BCI (135) and Custom Denning with 120. Outside of these leaders, King Long recorded 83 units for the year and kept ahead of Scania Higer (46), BusTech Group (40), BLK (36) and I-Bus (27). Marcopolo finished with 26 deliveries, while Express Coaches (25), Coach Design (22) and Coach Concepts with 20 were the only other brands to finish with double digit deliveries for the year.
The seating game was expectedly dominated by McConnell, who landed a whopping 538 deliveries in 2023. It was nearly double ahead of the second placed Sege, who had a strong year with 301 deliveries, while Yutong rounded out the podium with 208 units. StyleRide grew stronger as the year went on to finish with 176 deliveries, 100 more than the next best King Long. APM recorded 29 units for the year, Marcopolo registered 24 and Fainsa passed double digits with 11 deliveries.
Another year and another period of market dominance for Thermo King in the air-conditioning game as it stormed to 389 deliveries for 2023. Its highlight was 58 deliveries in March, which kept it clear of the second-placed Cling-Yutong with 220 deliveries. Hispacold had a very consistent year to record 181 deliveries, while Coachair (150) and Valeo (116) both passed the century mark. MCC and King Long were close the whole way with 87 and 83 deliveries respectively, while Denso landed 52 deliveries, Konvekta the 43, Spheros had 39 and Songz closed out the market in 2023 with 27 deliveries.
There was a clear winner in the state-based competition, as Victoria’s strong finish saw it snag top spot with 376 deliveries in 2023. Its rival NSW finished second with 327, staying clear of Queensland (281) and Western Australia (270). South Australia had a resurgent 2023 and landed 70 deliveries, while Tasmania (29), the ACT (20) and the Northern Territory (14) all remained consistent in a productive 2023.