The Real Hong Kong | Me, Jamie, 51 years living in Hong Kong - I know the culture
The Real Hong Kong
The Ultimate Guide to Trucks in Hong Kong
Trucks in Hong Kong
Honestly, I never thought for a minute that I would ever be pegged as a Truck geek, car geek - absolutely but trucks? apparently, that I am because of my collection of 14,000+ Hong Kong truck images which grows on a weekly basis.
I am very lucky that I have a fabulous camera and even though I say so myself, I do make trucks look good!
Studying trucks as I have been doing with a lot more interest in the past few years, I have begun to appreciate the sheer diversity of truck designs and the battle for supremacy here between Japanese trucks | European trucks and Chinese Trucks - it seems the truck market is very big and very lucrative, I should mention that the Korean Brands Hyundai and KIA are have some success but their range of trucks on offer simply cannot compete and so they basically offer just one or two models of small delivery trucks.
The Transport Department of the Hong Kong Government, has if you have the patience to look lots of statistics and relevant information, I have had many dealings with the Transport Department, they are brilliant, the always answer specific enquiries promptly and are really willing to assist… a rare commodity these days.
Just based on my photography I was able to determine that ISUZU is the market leader and based on Transport Department Statistics it outsells everyone in all truck categories particularly the heavy goods vehicle sector.
I do like Isuzu but I feel that Mercedes Benz, Scania, Man and Volvo have better designs and are apparently more durable.
People in Hong Kong are always moaning about cars here and that they cause traffic jams and such but I can tell you now, it is much more to do with the approximately 122,000 trucks in Hong Kong although I do worry about the desire of truck drivers here that treat their trucks like a sports car, to me they drive far to fast and a 38 tonne truck can do a lot of damage!
Finally, I get the feeling that concrete mixer trucks are a sign and indicator of the health of the local economy, the sheer volume of these truck is quite mind boggling in Hong Kong.
© Jamie Lloyd | J3 Private Tours Hong Kong | J3 Consultants Hong Kong | 2011 - 2023. All rights reserved. Click on the image to enlarge to full screen
Trucks in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Transport - Trucks
Currently and as of early 2023 there are approximately 122,500 + Trucks, Vans* and Special Purpose Vehicles (Light, Medium & Heavy) registered + licenced in Hong Kong. (*Vans are classified as Light Goods Vehicles and are not shown in this album)
In Hong Kong Trucks are classified as GOODS VEHICLES By the Transport Department - see below
☛Light Goods Vehicles - Goods vehicles of permitted gross vehicle weight not exceeding 5.5 tonnes.
☛Medium Goods Vehicles - Goods vehicles of permitted gross vehicle weight exceeding 5.5 tonnes but not exceeding 24 tonnes.
☛Heavy Goods Vehicles - Goods vehicles of permitted gross vehicle weight exceeding 24 tonnes but not exceeding 38 tonnes.
The 3 major types I tend to see in urban areas are trucks carrying construction materials or waste (dump trucks), concrete mixers and medium size delivery trucks... outside of the urban areas the number of 40ft container trucks on the roads is really quite staggering, my apartment block overlooks the busiest highway in Hong Kong which links up to the China border and I am convinced that container trucks outnumber cars and buses by a huge factor.
Most truck brands are heavy industry divisions of large multinational companies and have corresponding car divisions as well - one of the big players is HINO which is the truck division of Toyota and Toyota cars sell in huge numbers here whereas Isuzu and Fuso (Mitsubishi) sell a lot more trucks than cars here. UD is a peculiar story - it is now an Isuzu subsidiary (as of 2021) after being a division of Volvo and before that Nissan and Volvo and Isuzu have a joint venture strategic alliance now and they also have a stake in Dong Feng the Chinese Truck Manufacturer (!) and they have a massive worldwide network of plants and distributors but despite that UD is still a minor player in Hong Kong, that will change
Hong Kong favours Japanese and European brands, it is actually quite rare to see a Chinese branded truck in Hong Kong, the one brand that stands out is Dong Feng which also makes the Military trucks for the Chinese Army and are often sighted on the roads here. My personal observation is that China made brands seem to show major signs of wear and tear with lots of rust spots even on trucks just a year old so perhaps reliability is also an issue, given that UD (Volvo) has a stake in Dong Feng, I am quite sure quality issues will be resolved quickly.
The following brands of Trucks can be seen on the streets of Hong Kong and include |
Beiben ✚ Bell ✚ CAMC ✚ CNHTC ✚ DAF ✚ Dennis ✚ Dong Feng ✚ FAW ✚ Fuso ✚ Foton ✚ Ford ✚ Hino ✚ Howo ✚ Hyundai ✚ Isuzu ✚ Iveco ✚ JAC ✚ Kato ✚ KIA ✚ Liebherr ✚ MAN ✚ Mercedes Benz ✚ Mitsubishi ✚ Nissan ✚ Renault ✚ Scania ✚ Shacman ✚ Sinotruk ✚ Toyota ✚ UD ✚ Volvo ✚ Zoomlion
☛Mercedes Benz supplies specialised trucks for Hong Kong Police Force use
☛DAF supplies specialised trucks for The Correctional Services Department | Prisoner Transport
☛Dennis did supply specialised trucks for The Fire Services Department but they are being phased out in favour of Scania and Mercedes Benz vehicles
☛Kato and Liebherr Crane Trucks can be seen all over Hong Kong, these are monsters and traffic stoppers!
☛* Mitsubishi in Hong Kong used to sell Mitsubishi brand trucks and now all trucks seem to be sold through main truck division FUSO
☛* Toyota in Hong Kong used to sell Toyota brand trucks and now all trucks seem to be sold through their main truck division HINO with just a couple of exceptions
Hong Kong is a brand conscious place even for trucks (!) hence the popularity of the European brands, Scania and Man are very popular and even the older trucks look the business and they are utterly reliable.
Isuzu is the market leader in terms of sale volume for all types of trucks.
(Source - The Transport Department, Hong Kong Government)
Hong Kong Streets - People, Street Scenes, Traffic Scenes, Buildings + Daily Life, all Districts, Hong Kong
Tags
Trucks, Hong Kong Trucks Trucks in Hong Kong
