Hino claims successful 2023 despite soft sales

Hino Australia has reflected on another strong and consistent year while setting out its priorities for the future as it moves into 2024. With a month remaining in 2023, Hino forecasts it will finish 2023 at a similar volume to 2022.
 
Speaking at a recent business briefing, Hino Australia’s Vice President of Brand and Franchise Development Richard Emery said:
 
“While our sales position has been frustrated over the last two years through supply and logistics constraints, our order intake has stayed strong and our customers have remained consistent in their support of us.
         
“It would be fair to say that supply restrictions around our light-duty 300 Series and medium-duty 500 Series trucks have been challenging for our dealers and customers, and we are grateful for their patience,” he said.  
 
The real success story of 2023 has been the light-duty 300 Series Hybrid Electric which has seen a rise in orders of over 400% year-on-year courtesy of customers’ increased focus on reducing emissions.
 
“This year will be a record year for 300 Series Hybrid Electric – we have already delivered over 200 units and we have another 100 pending delivery,” he continued.
 
Hino Australia’s strong results were not limited to truck sales as the after-sales side of the business continues to see significant growth.
 
“In 2023, we will again achieve record part sales, which has been made possible by the ongoing efforts of our dealer network and our state-of-the-art Parts Distribution Centre which we opened during COVID lockdowns in 2021,” said Mr Emery.
 
“Our service workshops and parts business are operating at record levels this year, and this has seen our dealer partners investing in greater capacity and resources to fulfill this growth, which is expected to continue into 2024,” he said.
 
This is reflected by Hino Australia winning its 15th successive Parts Department of the Year Award and a 12th consecutive Service Department of the Year Award earlier in 2023.
 
“From a sales and marketing perspective, 2024 will see a further concentration on our Hybrid Electric products while we expect our heavy-duty 700 Series to experience further sales growth.
 
“Our current focus is to invest in and entrench a sustainable and robust business model that will perform regardless of any potential challenges,” continued Mr Emery.
 
“Together with our automotive business partners, we have invested over $45 million in the infrastructure and services to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations and requirements both now and in the future,” he concluded.