Hino Motor Sales Australia has achieved strong sales results in 2013, mainly due to the success of its automatic transmission and ProShift automated manual transmission (AMT) models.
Hino boosted its share of the Australian market to 15.8 per cent on the back of a 26 per cent increase in sales (4,156 vehicles sold).
Hino said the 300 Series 616 and 617 models enjoyed a seven per cent increase in sales over 2012, thanks in part to a fourth-quarter promotion offering manual customers a free automatic transmission upgrade. They also happen to be the only light-duty trucks in Australia to offer an automatic transmission.
Helping sell the 300 series vehicles was the Built To Go model variants – Tipper, TradeAce and SteelAce, all now available with an automatic transmission option.
Hino Australia's Divisional Manager of Sales James Morris said that customer preference for Built To Go models is growing with the increase in the range of variants offered.
“Businesses are beginning to appreciate the purchase convenience that these versatile models have to offer,” Morris said.
In the medium-duty truck market, Hino grew to 29.6 per cent in 2013 – an increase of 1.7 share points year-on-year.
The introduction of the ProShift 6 AMT on 500 Series FC and FD models saw sales increase by 11.9 per cent over 2012. Morris attributed the success of the ProShift 500 Series models to the continuation of a long-term trend towards automated and automatic transmissions in the trucking industry saying it provides greater comfort and ease of operation to drivers on traffic-congested routes.
Sales of FG and GH model variants of the 500 Series grew by seven per cent last year, with FG 1628 Auto and GH 1728 Auto performing particularly well.
Hino's heavy-duty 700 Series enjoyed a 31.4 per cent increase in sales to 127 units.
Hino said the increase was partly due to the increasing popularity of the heavy-duty 8×4 700 Series FY. The SH variant of the 700 Series was also popular thanks to its unique position as the only Japanese 4×2 prime mover with four-wheel disc brakes, vehicle stability control and 450 horsepower mated to a ProShift 16 AMT.
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