After a quieter March, the nation’s bus and coach deliveries have started trending upwards yet again to match a busy January and February.
While March saw 123 units recorded, April improved to finish on 141 deliveries. While it’s a rise from last month, it falls narrowly short of April 2024, when 144 deliveries were recorded.
The chassis market once again clearly belonged to Volvo, who nearly doubled its March numbers of 45 deliveries to finish with 75 in April. It was far and away the sector leader, with Scania replacing Yutong in second with 21 deliveries for the month. Yutong made sure it wasn’t too far behind with the 18 deliveries, including six D7 and D7E light bus units.
I-Bus recorded nine light bus deliveries, while King Long had seven heavy buses recorded. From there, BCI registered the four deliveries, MAN the three and BLK two, with Custom Denning and Challenger both having a solitary delivery each.
While Volgren had some tight competition in March, it returned to form in April as it once again secured a dominant top spot in the bodybuilder market with the 43 deliveries. Irizar came in second with the 20, while Yutong finished third with its 18 deliveries. Custom Denning wasn’t far behind with 11, while I-Bus and BCI both recorded nine. King Long (seven) kept its nose ahead of BLK (six) and Coach Concepts (four), with a remaining six brands claiming the final 14 deliveries.
The industry has become used to McConnell dominating the seating segment, with the Victorian-based supplier romping away to a commanding lead with 60 April deliveries. Sege secured a comfortable second with 35, leaving Yutong in third with 12. APM snatched fourth with nine deliveries, while StyleRide (eight) kept ahead of King Long (seven) and BusTech (six). At the end, Marcopolo (three) and Fainsa (one) remained consistent in their deliveries.
Despite Cling-Yutong claiming March honours, the always competitive HVAC market took another turn in April as Thermo King returned to the top with 31 deliveries. It was a fiercely fought month, with Hispacold claiming second with 27 units while Cling-Yutong dropped to third with 18. Coachair (17) remained hot on its heels, with Valeo (14) also not far behind. Below them, Songz (nine) had a strong month, as did MCC (eight), while King Long (seven) stayed ahead of a pack of four brands that split the final 10 deliveries between them.
Much like in the air-conditioning sector, Australia’s states and territories continue to closely battle it out for top spot. Queensland confirmed its return to number one in April, following it up with 41 deliveries in April. Victoria rose to snatch second with 30 and WA claimed third with 27, while NSW dropped from top spot in March to fourth in April with 23 deliveries. South Australia’s strong month saw 14 deliveries while the ACT welcomed six new buses to the fold in April.
When it comes to the comparison between diesel and electric vehicles, nine of the 141 April deliveries were electric, down from the 27 recorded in March. Yutong (seven) claimed top spot in that market ahead of Volvo (one) and BCI (one). On the diesel side, Volvo dominated with 74 out of the 132 diesel units for the month, with Scania (13) and Yutong (11) well behind. The former also recorded eight deliveries in the diesel hybrid segment.
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Click here for comprehensive bus and coach delivery information for April. Please note all data is as supplied from manufacturers, at their discretion.
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