Girteka Logistics, a major European logistics company based in Lithuania, has placed an order for 2,000 of the latest generation, Volvo FH trucks.

Vanguard Truck Centers LLC, a dealer of Volvo Trucks North America Inc of Greensboro, North Carolina, has invested USD23m in a new facility, which is one of four locations in the Houston, Texas area, in addition to a full-service body shop.

The market for heavy-duty trucks over 16 tons gvw was the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, with international trade, fixed investment, mining sector output and construction activity all sharply lower.

The market for medium-duty trucks between 5-16 tons gvw continued to dive lower in the fourth quarter of 2020, by over 36% to 13,105 units after declining by more than 14% to 20,593 units in the same period of the previous year.

The Indonesian pickup truck segment is almost entirely made up of models imported as built-up units from Thailand.

Sales of medium and heavy-duty trucks over 5 tons gvw fell by almost 10% to 7,696 units in the fourth quarter of 2020 from an already weak 8,525 units in the same period of the previous year, resulting in a drop of over 16% in full-year sales to 19,292 units from 23,080 units.

Sales of pickup trucks increased by over 9% to 7,317 units in the fourth quarter of 2020, after plunging by over 25% to 6,702 units in the same period of the previous year, resulting in a 13.5% decline in full-year sales to 19,697 units from 22,767 sales in 2019.

Sales of medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles over 6 tons gvw are estimated to have declined by over 23% to 19,589 units in 2020 from 25,575 units in the previous year, reflecting declining investment, trade and domestic consumption over the full year.

Sales of rigid trucks over 2 tons gvw, excluding pickup trucks, increased by over 20% to 4,195 in the fourth quarter of 2020 after declining by almost 24% to 3,493 units in the same period of the previous year.

The Malaysian market for light vans and minibuses fell by almost 19% to 1,192 units in the fourth quarter of 2020 from already weak-year earlier sales of 1,369 units, resulting in a fall of almost 45% to 3,093 units over the full year from 5,586 units in 2019.

Sales of pickup trucks rebounded strongly in the fourth quarter of 2020, by over 37% to 13,145 units from 9,580 units in the same period of the previous year, wiping out most of the earlier declines and resulting in a fall in full-year sales of just 3.7% to 33,034 units.

Sales of pickup trucks declined by almost 17% to 13,227 units in the fourth quarter of 2020 from 15,847 units in the same period of the previous year, resulting in full-year sales falling by more than 41% to 40,187 units from strong year-earlier sales of 68,355 units.