Australia’s new truck market delivered its third-strongest result on record in 2025, holding up better than many expected in a year marked by economic pressure, operator closures and an influx of used vehicles.
According to Truck Industry Council (TIC) T-Mark data, 45,191 new trucks and heavy vans were sold during the 2025 calendar year. While this was down 11.9 per cent (6,086 units) on the all-time record set in 2024, it still represents a historically strong outcome for the sector.
TIC noted that the market faced significant headwinds throughout the year, including cost-of-living pressures and the collapse of several transport operators. These closures released large numbers of late-model used trucks into the market, which inevitably displaced some new-vehicle demand.
Even so, 2025 marked the fourth consecutive year of record or near-record truck sales, following totals of 44,379 units in 2022, 47,757 in 2023 and the 2024 peak of 51,277.
Segment performance: light duty leads, heavy eases
A closer look at the segment breakdown shows a clear shift in buyer behaviour.
Light Duty trucks were the strongest-performing segment in 2025, with 13,712 units sold, down a modest 5.8 per centon 2024. Importantly, Light Duty trucks finished the year strongly, with fourth-quarter sales slightly higher than the same period last year. The segment accounted for 33.1 per cent of all heavy vehicle sales.
By contrast, Heavy Duty truck sales softened more sharply, falling 16.7 per cent year-on-year to 14,297 units. For the first time in a decade, Heavy Duty sales slipped behind Light Duty volumes, accounting for 32.6 per cent of the total market. TIC highlighted this as evidence that the heaviest end of the market felt the greatest impact from economic conditions in 2025.
The Medium Duty segment continued its long-term decline, with sales dropping 18.0 per cent to 6,672 units. Medium trucks now represent just 12.2 per cent of new heavy vehicle sales, less than half their peak market share, reinforcing the industry’s move toward either smaller Light Duty trucks or larger Heavy Duty applications.
Heavy vans above 3.5 tonnes GVM also recorded a year-on-year decline. A total of 10,510 vans were sold in 2025, down 8.1 per cent, with the segment making up 22.1 per cent of the heavy vehicle market.
A resilient result, but structural challenges remain
Despite the softer volumes, TIC said the overall result was encouraging given broader economic conditions.
“Despite the challenging economic environment that prevailed across the Australian economy in 2025, it was pleasing to see new truck sales hold up well in 2025, culminating in the third best sales result for the heavy vehicle sector last year,” said Tony McMullan, Chief Executive Officer of the Truck Industry Council.
“It was equally pleasing to see sales well into the forty thousands. The 40,000 barrier was only broken relatively recently in 2018… however, sales are now consistently continuing above this mark.”
However, McMullan also warned that strong new-truck sales alone are not enough to address one of the industry’s biggest issues — fleet age.
“Despite significant new truck sales, the Truck Industry Council and our members remain concerned that the average age of the Australian truck fleet remains much older than that of Europe, North America and Asian countries such as Japan and Korea,” he said. “An old truck fleet is not conducive to improved safety, public health and environmental outcomes for our society.”
Outlook
The 2025 truck sales result highlights a market that remains fundamentally resilient but increasingly sensitive to economic conditions, used-vehicle supply and application-driven purchasing decisions. With Light Duty trucks gaining share and Medium Duty volumes continuing to contract, the shape of Australia’s truck market is clearly evolving — even as total sales remain historically strong.
