A very encouraging 5.2 per cent heavy-duty market share result with a record 682 trucks delivered gave DAF the sixth position in ranking in Australia at the end of 2021.
DAF Trucks Australia augmented these results with increases in production at its Bayswater plant having added three prime mover variants to its locally assembled range with the CF 450 FTT with Sleeper Cab, CF 480 FTT with Sleeper Cab and CF 530 FTT with Sleeper Cab, as well as a locally engineered and produced 8×4 rigid cab/chassis model – CF 340 FAD with Day Cab.
Production of DAF trucks reached 60,000 units across the globe last year as soaring demand for road transport helped reflect recovering economies in various international markets.
Introduction of the New Generation DAF XF, XG and XG⁺ models for long haul road freight represented a major milestone and resulted in a full order book for the Eindhoven truck manufacturer.
This was further capped by the New Generation XF, XG and XG⁺ being voted ‘International Truck of the Year 2022’.
In addition, the DAF XF H2 concept truck with hydrogen combustion engine, won the coveted ‘Truck Innovation Award 2022’.
The truckmaker also overcame many challenges largely due to a scarcity of parts.
In fact, it was not the demand for trucks that ultimately determined the production numbers but rather the availability of chips and other components.
In 2021, about 49,000 heavy and medium duty CF and XF trucks came off the production line (compared with 37,600 in 2020) as well as about 11,000 LF distribution trucks (9,000 in 2020).
DAF ended 2021 as a market leader in six European countries having achieved a market share of 15.9 per cent (2020: 16.3 per cent) in Europe in the heavy (16 tonne+) segment and 10.1 per cent (2020 was 9.5 per cent) in the light segment.
As in previous years, DAF was the 2021 heavy duty market leader in the Netherlands (28.5 per cent), the UK (29.4 per cent), Poland (24.3 per cent), Hungary (24.8 per cent), Bulgaria (23.8 per cent) and Portugal (19.0 per cent). DAF also remained the undisputed market leader in Europe in the heavy duty tractor segment.
Outside of Europe DAF sold 8,600 trucks in 2021, compared with 5,900 in 2020.
This included a large order for heavy duty trucks from Colombia and an order for several dozen fully-fitted garbage trucks in Ghana.
Furthermore, the 10,000th locally built truck was produced in Taiwan, where DAF is the market leader among European brands in the heavy segment.
DAF also ended the year as market leader in Israel and made great strides in Brazil and aforementioned locally.
In 2021 DAF sold 2,250 PACCAR engines to leading manufacturers of coaches, buses and special vehicles.
This represents an increase of more than 10 per cent compared with 2020 when DAF Components sold 2,000 engines.
DAF also received two orders from the Belgian Armed Forces in 2021. Over the coming years a total of about 900 all wheel drive vehicles – equipped with or without ballistic cab – will be delivered.
“No less than 40 per cent of all newly-sold used trucks were delivered along with a DAF MultiSupport repair and maintenance contract – a record,” according to Richard Zink, Member of the DAF Board of Management with responsibility for Marketing and Sales.
“This means that more and more customers are opting for maximum uptime support, both in terms of costs and vehicle availability. A record number of transporter operators availed of the services of PACCAR Financial, which also sold an unprecedented number of used vehicles.”
Thanks to the upturn in the economy there was increasing demand for trucks in Europe according to Harry Wolters, DAF Trucks President, who believes the brand is well placed going forward with its New Generation DAF range.
“These are the first and only trucks on the market to comply with the new European regulations for vehicle masses and dimensions,” he said.
“This means that the XF, XG and XG⁺ set a new benchmark in the areas of efficiency, safety and driver comfort. We expect the European truck market to reach somewhere between 260,000 and 300,000 vehicles in 2022.”
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