Q3 Class 8 commercial vehicle sales drop, other classes rise

Sales for commercial vehicles across seven of the eight classes showed signs of strengthening in the third quarter, but Class 8 truck sales declined. 

Commercial vehicles are broken down into eight classifications based on gross vehicle weight rating, with the market for each class changing due to specific use cases. 

In Q3, Class 8 traditional truck sales for Daimler fell amid industry softness, while the other classes and EVs showed strength for Daimler, Ford, General Motors and class 8 EV dealer Nikola, according to each company’s release. 

Open in Power BI Q3 2024 Commercial Vehicle Sales Data as of 10/9/24, 5:00 PM

For Class 8 trucks, 2024 remains a down year overall, but 2025 and 2026 should be stronger, Andrej Divis, executive director of global truck research at S&P Global, said during a webinar today. 

“Given our economic outlook, as well as some of the indicators of strength, including the latest jobs report, we believe that’s one reason why the market can be expected to grow again for Class 8 in 2025,” he said.  

Model year 2026 trucks will be the last before tougher emissions standards take effect, he said. 

New trucks will “come into the market and start being registered in the second quarter and third quarter of 2025, so we believe if there is going to be a ‘pre-buy,’ fleets are going to start to register those vehicles in 2025, and that’s going to provide some additional lift,” Divis said. 

Meanwhile, Ford U.S. Class 1 to Class 7 commercial truck and van share grew to 42.5%, up 2 percentage points year over year, according to an Oct. 2 release. General Motors also continued to see growth for its commercial trucks and vans, including Chevrolet, GMC and Brightdrop vehicles. 

Electric sales up 

Sales of battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles increased in the third quarter for all four manufacturers as GM and Nikola increased their focus on EVs. Meanwhile, Daimler and Ford are still growing market share. 

GM sold 1,220 commercial EVs in Q3, up 197% primarily due to a significant increase in Hummer EV sales. The Chevy Silverado EV and Brightdrop Zevo 600 did not record sales in Q3 2023.  

Nikola reported sales of 88 Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), within the initial sales guidance of 80 to 100 units. The company began producing FCEVs in Q4 2023 following a massive recall of its Tre battery electric vehicle units in Q3 2023. 

Q3 was among the most successful for Nikola, Chief Executive Steve Girsky said in the company’s Oct. 2 release, citing the addition of its first U.S. dealer-based HYLA modular refueling station. 

“Despite overall market headwinds, Nikola remains focused on our mission to pioneer solutions for a zero-emission world, and we’re doing it one truck at a time,” he said. 

Daimler reported sales of 666 battery-electric vehicles in the quarter, up 35.6% YoY. In contrast, Daimler Truck sold 114,197 trucks and buses in Q3, down 10.8% YoY. 

Ford held significant commercial EV market share with 10,117 units sold, due to strong demand for the F-150 Lightning and Ford E-transit, according to its Oct. 2 release. 

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