Mr Wong: '2007 is going to be an exceptional year and may not be repeated. But from what I see, the strong demand will continue to be good at least into the first quarter of 2008.' THE construction boom is driving sales of very heavy goods vehicles, with this year's total orders likely to be as much as 50 per cent higher than in 2006.
Under the Land Transport Authority's classification, there are four categories of heavy goods vehicle (HGV). But current demand is strongest for the heaviest of them - HGV 4. This category includes vehicles such as dump trucks or tippers, cement mixers and truck-mounted cranes - all of them commonly used in the construction industry.
Models in the other three HGV categories are smaller, and as they are usually bought for the retail trade, demand for them has not changed much.
There are only a handful of key players in Singapore's HGV 4 heavyweight segment - Isuzu, Hino and Nissan Diesel. Mitsubishi, along with the non-Japanese brands Scania, Mercedes-Benz and Man, are also represented but they are relatively niche players. Scania, for example, is mainly associated with prime movers and buses.
Nissan Diesel has the biggest market share in the HGV 4 category. In the first seven months of this year, a total of 302 units were registered, with Nissan accounting for 131 of them - 43.4 per cent. Isuzu is next with 98 units or 32.4 per cent, while Hino has 56 units or 18.5 per cent.
According to industry sources, many more of these heavy vehicles are on order and will only be delivered later this year. It is understood that Hino has been making good inroads in this market, with 'strong outstanding orders that will be delivered by year-end', a source says.
'There has been strong demand for all heavy goods vehicle categories due to the robust economy, which is underpinned by a boom in building and construction, as well as the surge in transhipment, logistics and warehousing activities.'
The source adds that the rising demand was noticed in the first quarter of this year.
Inquiries for Isuzu HGVs also picked up at the start of the year, says Michael Wong, director and general manager of Triangle Auto, the distributor for Isuzu and Opel commercial vehicles.
'Our orders in the first eight months of 2007 have equalled the whole of last year's,' he says.
In 2006, Triangle Auto sold 200 Isuzu HGVs. Mr Wong says he has collected that same amount of orders so far this year, and the bulk of them will be delivered by year-end after the usual four-month waiting period. There are no 2006 figures for Hino, because Borneo Motors Singapore, which became the exclusive distributor in April last year, did not have any HGV 4 models until this year.
'The construction industry requires all these vehicles because of their tight project delivery dates. Many vehicles also have to be replaced because their five-year COE extensions can no longer be renewed,' Mr Wong says.
Isuzu's HGV 4 models start from $120,000 - about the same as Hino's. The latter's prices range from $116,000 for a four-axle tipper, to $132,000 for a mixer.
Last year, the 1,300 HGV 4 units registered formed over 9 per cent of the approximately 14,000 new commercial vehicles on the market, which include all heavy goods vehicles, light goods vehicles and buses.
The demand for big HGVs does not look like it will ease up. 'It will be strong until for at least the next one to two years, especially with the two major Integrated Resort projects and the various residential and commercial building projects and infrastructure works taking place,' says one industry observer.
Mr Wong does not disagree, although he cautions that demand from the construction industry is cyclical.
'2007 is going to be an exceptional year and may not be repeated,' he says. 'But from what I see, the strong demand will continue to be good at least into the first quarter of 2008.'
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