Australian truck brand consideration reshuffled at the top of the market in Q2 2026. Iveco Trucks overtook Mercedes-Benz Trucks for third place, even as the broader pool of truck-related searches pulled back after a Q1 2026 rebound. Kenworth extended its lead marginally, Isuzu gave back a portion of its strong Q1 2026 gain, and Scania Trucks and Volvo Trucks both built on genuine multi-quarter momentum. Read on for our full breakdown of Q2 2026 truck brand movements and what the reshuffled podium means for the market.
A Note on Methodology
We produced this report using keyword search volume data to assess truck brand search behaviour across Australia for Q2 2026. The dataset included 19 truck brands, nearly 43,000 search terms, and close to 1.8 million searches across the quarter. Our analysis focused on how share-of-search shifted between Q1 2026 and Q2 2026, to better understand changes in brand consideration across the market.
Our search analysis included brand terms, dealer terms where the dealer name contains the OEM brand, brand combined with location, dealer, category, reviews, and close variations of these combinations. We excluded searches related to parts and accessories, used truck listings, rental services, and general servicing or maintenance terms to focus solely on brand consideration rather than after-sales behaviour.
A Note From Our Researchers
Please note that keyword lists and data sourcing methods are continuously evolving to enhance the accuracy and depth of search volume reporting. All data is refreshed with each quarterly report, so figures within any given edition reflect the most current available snapshot. As such, some metrics may shift quarter over quarter as these refinements are applied.
Retain Media provides this data ‘as is’ for informational purposes only and accepts no liability for decisions made based on this reporting. Users are encouraged to use this data as one of multiple data points in their market analysis.
Iveco Overtakes Mercedes-Benz Trucks as the Podium Reshuffles
Q2 2026 continued a pattern of concentration at the very top of the market. Kenworth’s lead extended only slightly, while the positions immediately behind it moved more meaningfully. Iveco Trucks eased only marginally, and that stability was enough to move past Mercedes-Benz Trucks. Mercedes-Benz Trucks had returned to third place only in Q1 2026, and its retreat in Q2 2026 shows how quickly rankings in this market can turn over even without a dramatic swing in either direction.
Total truck-related search volume in this dataset eased through Q2 2026, even as new truck registrations moved in the opposite direction. Brand-level movement at the top of the search rankings in Q2 2026 therefore occurred against a strengthening sales market, a divergence explored in full later in this report.
Below the top four, Scania Trucks and Volvo Trucks both extended gains that have now built across consecutive quarters, while Freightliner Trucks posted the largest proportional lift among the top ten. The mid-tier remains open to repositioning, and Q2 2026’s results suggest that a brand holding steady can gain ground just as effectively as one growing outright.
The Most Searched Truck Brands in Australia
The Top 10
Kenworth held first place at 23.4%, extending its lead by 0.3 percentage points from Q1 2026 to open a gap of just over ten percentage points over second place. The brand’s position at the top of Australian truck consideration remains unchallenged, and its modest gain in Q2 2026 suggests the search softness across the quarter did little to affect its standing.
Isuzu retained second place but eased 0.6 percentage points to 13.2%, giving back a portion of the strong gain it posted in Q1 2026. The result reads as a correction rather than a reversal. Isuzu remains comfortably ahead of the brands below it, though the pace of its recent momentum has clearly slowed.
The most significant movement in the top five came at third place. Iveco Trucks eased just 0.1 percentage points to 10.0%, and that near-steady result was enough to move past Mercedes-Benz Trucks, which fell 1.0 percentage point to 9.7%, the sharpest decline of any brand in the top ten.
Scania Trucks was the standout mover outside the top four, rising 0.6 percentage points to 7.5%. Fuso Trucks and Hino Trucks arrived at an identical 6.2% share in Q2 2026, Fuso easing 0.3 percentage points from Q1 2026 and Hino holding perfectly flat for a second consecutive quarter. The two brands reached that shared position from opposite directions, and their convergence is one of the more interesting outcomes in the mid-tier.
Mack Trucks eased 0.2 percentage points to 5.5%, a smaller movement than the volatility it has shown in recent quarters. Volvo Trucks continued its gradual build, up 0.5 percentage points to 5.1%. Freightliner Trucks completed the top ten with a smaller but still meaningful gain, rising 0.4 percentage points to 3.2%.
How Other Players Fared
Western Star Trucks remained the largest brand outside the top ten, holding a steady 2.1% for a second consecutive quarter and maintaining a clear margin over the next-largest brand in this tier.
DAF Trucks lifted marginally to 1.4%, while Man Trucks and International Trucks each posted small gains of around 0.1 percentage points, reaching 1.2% apiece. None of the movements were dramatic, but the consistency across all three points to a stable lower tier rather than one brand pulling away from the rest.
Foton Trucks continued its run of consecutive gains, up 0.1 percentage points to 1.1%, while UD Trucks and Sitrak Trucks both settled at 1.0%. Sitrak’s result marks a pause after a run of upward movement, and UD’s gain was enough to draw level with it, a shift worth watching given the two brands sat at different points on this ranking as recently as Q1 2026.
Hyundai Trucks rose 0.1 percentage points to 0.9%, a modest but consistent result. Dennis Eagle remained the smallest brand in the dataset, unchanged at 0.1%.
Movement at the Margins
Movement was the norm rather than the exception in Q2 2026, from the podium reshuffle at the top down to modest reordering among the smaller brands.
Notable Movers and Brands to Watch
The defining story of Q2 2026 played out at third place, where Iveco Trucks’ near-steady result was enough to overtake a retreating Mercedes-Benz Trucks. That kind of position change without a corresponding gain is a reminder that share in this market is relative, and holding ground can be as effective as growing it when a competitor moves in the other direction.
Scania Trucks enters Q3 2026 with the clearest positive trajectory outside the top three, having reversed months of net softening in a single quarter. Volvo Trucks posted its third consecutive quarter of growth and the largest percentage-point gain of the trio, placing it alongside Scania as one of the more consistent stories in the mid-tier. Freightliner Trucks’ result, its strongest quarter since Q1 2025, suggests a brand building rather than simply holding position.
Isuzu’s decline follows an unusually strong Q1 2026 result. Whether it represents a correction after a strong quarter or the start of a longer softening will become clearer as Q3 2026 data arrives.
Search Cools as Registrations Climb in Q2 2026
Total truck brand consideration searches eased around 4.5% from Q1 2026 to Q2 2026. The move fits a broader quarterly pattern rather than a new downward trend. Total search volume dipped in Q4 2025, rebounded in Q1 2026, and eased again in Q2 2026, an alternating pattern rather than a straight-line decline.
Set against Q2 2025, when the category recorded roughly 1.98 million searches, the current total is down around 9.3%, a steeper drop than the quarter-on-quarter move alone suggests. That year-on-year comparison points to a real softening in search interest across the category, even as the quarter-on-quarter figures oscillate.
The sales-side data adds a genuinely different layer to this picture. T-Mark registrations from the Truck Industry Council show new truck sales accelerating over the same period, rising from 9,132 in Q1 2026 to 10,394 in Q2 2026, a gain of 13.8%. Search interest and actual purchase activity moved in opposite directions in Q2 2026, suggesting that softer search volume reflects more than buyers losing interest in the category. Several regional freight and haulage operators ceased trading during the quarter, a reminder that conditions at the operator level remain mixed even as headline sales volumes improved.
Heading into Q3 2026, a softer search quarter should be read alongside registration data rather than in isolation, particularly when the two point in opposite directions.
What the Q2 2026 Data Means for Dealers, OEMs, and Marketers
Q2 2026 confirms a category where position at the top of the market is more contested than raw share figures alone suggest. For brands sitting just behind a rival, the practical lesson is to track that competitor’s trajectory as closely as their own. A rival’s stall can open a ranking gap just as effectively as a brand’s own growth.
The contraction in search volume takes on a different meaning once set against the sales data. Search interest is genuinely softer than a year ago, but that softening has not been accompanied by a shrinking pool of buyers. New truck registrations accelerated over the same period, and brands that held or grew their share of search did so in a market with increasingly active sales.
For brands in the top tier, sustaining visibility through Q3 2026 remains the clearer opportunity. Scania Trucks and Volvo Trucks have both demonstrated that consecutive quarters of gradual share growth are achievable, and their results offer a useful reference point for other mid-tier brands looking to build rather than simply defend position.
Brands assessing their own Q2 2026 performance in isolation risk misreading a broader quarterly rhythm, and now a genuine sales upswing, as a brand-specific signal. Viewing quarterly movement against the same quarter last year, and alongside registration data where it is available, offers a more reliable read than a single quarter-on-quarter search comparison alone.
Trust Retain Media for Industry-Leading Insights
Q2 2026 truck market results reveal a top tier that remains concentrated but increasingly contested. Iveco Trucks’ overtaking of Mercedes-Benz Trucks was the defining movement of the quarter. Kenworth’s lead extended only marginally, Isuzu’s strong Q1 2026 gain partially unwound, and Scania Trucks and Volvo Trucks both extended their multi-quarter gains.
Keep an eye on our next quarterly update as we continue tracking how these trends develop across the Australian truck market. In the meantime, download the full report for a deeper look at the Q2 2026 data, or explore our other market reports for broader insights into the Australian automotive and machinery sector, including the caravan market, ag market, motorbike market, and marine market. To find out how Retain Media can help your brand build and convert consideration in the Australian trucking sector, get in touch with our experts.
