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International Motors Q1 Sales Fall 21% Year Over Year
European Demand Supports Traton’s Global Total
Key Takeaways:
- International Motors sold 13,300 trucks and buses in the first quarter of 2026, down 21% from a year earlier, Traton said April 13.
- Sales also fell 15.8% from the fourth quarter, extending a 30% decline in 2025 as U.S. demand has yet to lift unit sales.
- Traton reports earnings April 29 as Class 8 orders surged in March and International cut 300 salaried jobs in February.
International Motors sold 13,300 trucks and buses in the first quarter of 2026, a 21% decrease compared with 16,900 vehicles in the year-ago period.
“Although the U.S. market has recently shown encouraging signs of an upturn in customer demand, this has not yet had an impact on unit sales,” parent company Traton said about the International brand’s performance in an April 13 news release. Sales also fell 15.8% compared with 15,800 trucks and buses in the fourth quarter of 2025.
International is the parent company of school bus manufacturer IC Bus.
Overall in 2025, International truck and bus sales fell 30% to 63,700 vehicles from 90,600 a year earlier.
Despite the declines, there are signs that U.S. truck sales are poised for a rebound; Class 8 orders in March jumped more than 100% year over year for a second consecutive month, according to ACT Research data.
Traton Q1 Sales Fall 6%
On a global basis, all of Traton’s brands sold a combined 68,600 vehicles in the first three months of 2026, a 6% decline compared with 73,100 trucks and buses in the same period 12 months earlier, it said.
Traton said it expected a slow start on a worldwide basis, with sales in both North America and South America taking a hit.
Scania sales fell 6% year over year to 21,000 trucks from 22,200 vehicles on the back of weakness in Brazilian demand, the parent company said.
However, MAN Truck & Bus sales rose 14% compared with the year-ago period to 23,600 vehicles from 20,600 trucks and buses.
MAN’s sales increase followed more positive European order activity at the end of 2025, although Traton noted Q1 2025 saw a “relatively weak” figure.
Traton is scheduled to publish a full set of earnings for the quarter on April 29.
Ongoing market weakness led to a round of layoffs at International in February, with 300 corporate salaried employees departing. No hourly production plant staff were affected.
