With the arrival of the X Series truck range in considerable numbers on our shores the process of Western Star’s modernisation process is well underway.

As the truck market normalises and the global supply chains become a little more reliable, the Western Star X Series range is now out, in some numbers, around the country. PowerTorque talks to the team at Penske about the reception the new trucks have received.

“What we’re seeing, from the initial launch of X Series, is a complete change from our legacy product, with the driveline integration of the Detroit DT 12 AMT and the Detroit DD13 and DD16 engines,” says Kurt Dein, Head of Western Star Trucks at Penske Australia.

“We’re seeing a huge percentage growth in customers choosing AMT transmissions.

“For us, we are coming back to a lot of customers that we sold to six or eight years ago, when the safety and driveline changes came into play and we were phased out of those segments. We’re now opening up those markets again, developing those key accounts. We’re breaking into those national fleets.

“When we launched X Series, we spoke about the ambitious market share growth plans that we had. The whole development and cost in the lead-up to the X Series coming to market was to get the runs on the board and get the product back up the ladder.

“We’re definitely seeing, 18 months after launch, north of 200 trucks on the road today and over the next 90 days we’ve got a huge volume going onto the road.”

Penske Australia now has a stock of trucks and the supply chain is definitely freeing up, after the ongoing supply issues following COVID. The feedback from the market is positive about the X Series, including the driver fit and feel, the driveline, the DT 12 transmission and the way it integrates with the engine.

There is still an 18 Speed legacy and those customers can still get their manual transmission of choice. Quite a few customers minds have been changed by experiencing the 12 speed AMT. Fuel economy from the 13L and 16L, also offering more horsepower and torque compared to how much the previous driveline offered at 560hp and 1850 ft lb of torque.

“We’re seeing a net gain in fuel economy and trip times overall,” says Kurt.

“Putting more compliance with emission rules into an engine with the horsepower growing and seeing a favourable fuel economy, it adds to the total customer ownership base model. It’s definitely been a very pleasing 12 months of supplying product to market, and we’re definitely getting a great result from customers.”