The first run of deliveries for 2025 are in, with the Australian bus and coach industry getting off to a rapid start to the year.
The final number of 164 deliveries for January is well ahead of the same time last year, where there were 137 deliveries for the first month of the year, and gets the industry moving early.
In the chassis sector, Yutong led the way, with 45 deliveries of its D7 model allowing it to top the charts for January. Outside of this, a further 16 deliveries saw it finish with 61 for the month, with Volvo starting off the year strong with 50 deliveries in January. These two were far and away the leaders, with King Long (12) and BCI (11) the next best in January. After them, Scania and Custom Denning both had the eight deliveries, while Guantong/GLK had six and the final eight deliveries were shared between five brands.
The bodybuilder market had an even start to the year, with plenty of companies sharing deliveries for January. Yutong’s 45 D7 deliveries allowed it to lead the way, with Volgren the next best with 23. Irizar and BCI shared third spot with 18 deliveries apiece, while both Custom Denning (15) and King Long (12) recorded double figure deliveries. Guantong/GTK had the six deliveries, while the final 11 units were split between seven companies.
In the seating market, Yutong’s D7 deliveries saw it reach a total of 58 units for February, with McConnell continuing its dominance in recent times with 42 deliveries. Sege and StyleRide couldn’t be separated with the 25 deliveries each, while King Long recorded 12 to start off the year strong. Fainsa rounded out the market with the two units delivered for the month.
The air-conditioning market was similarly close to others, with Thermo King’s 25 deliveries being the next best after Cling-Yutong’s big D7 month. Hispacold remained consistent with the 19 units delivered for January, with Valeo and King Long both reaching double figures with 12 deliveries apiece. The trio of Coachair, Spheros and MCC all recorded nine deliveries, finishing ahead of Songz (six) and Konvekta (two).
The state-based battle saw plenty of competition, but it was Queensland who started the year off the best with 47, or 29 per cent, of the deliveries. Western Australia shot up the charts to finish second with 39 deliveries, while Victoria rounded out the top three with 32, or 20 per cent, of the market. New South Wales came in fourth with 27 deliveries, with South Australia having a busy month with the 15 units delivered. The ACT rounded out the state and territory battle with the four deliveries for January.
Diesel v Electric
In January, there were 139 diesel deliveries, with the likes of Yutong (56) and Volvo (50) comfortably leading the way. Next best was King Long (12), Scania with seven and the single diesel-hybrid unit, and BCI with the six deliveries. To round it out, BLK, Custom Denning and Mercedes-Benz all had the two deliveries while Challenger had the one.
In the electric market, there were 25 deliveries for January, with Custom Denning and Nexport leading the way with the six units each. BCI and Yutong were right behind them with the five deliveries apiece, BYD (two) and ARCC (one) wrapped up the emerging sector.
Click here for comprehensive bus and coach delivery information for January. Please note all data is as supplied from manufacturers, at their discretion.