REGIONAL Victoria now has a newly-minted Daimler Truck dealership that opened recently in the East Gippsland city of Sale owned and operated by the Turnbull trucking dynasty.

Called Turnbulls Gippsland, the new dealership will support and sell Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and Fuso trucks, as well as the Fuso Rosa bus, at an upgraded facility in Sale.  

Sale is a key regional hub, located between the Latrobe Valley and the pristine coastline of the Gippsland Lakes district.

Gippsland’s economy is predominantly based around “truck-centric” natural resources and commodities, with key industry sectors including agriculture, forestry, dairy and pastoral industries, fishing, and coal mining, oil and gas extraction and processing. 

Turnbulls Gippsland

A spike in truck sales last year has galvanized certain brands and dealers into upgrading or expanding their facilities to cope with the increased demand across sales, service and spare parts.

According to the Truck Industry Council, after a few strong years, heavy truck sales last year ran to a record 47,757 units with 8004 medium duty trucks and 16,166 light duty trucks rolling out dealership doors.  Van sales rebounded in late 2023. 

The Turnbull family has a long history of selling and supporting cars and trucks in the region dating back to the late 1940s when Allan Turnbull started up a dealership after he returned from World War II.

His grandson, David Turnbull, along with his son, Toby, now leads the team at Turnbulls Gippsland. 

Daimler Truck Australia Pacific president and CEO, Daniel Whitehead, says Turnbulls Gippsland is a welcome addition to the network.

“We are thrilled to have David and Toby join the Daimler Truck network with their experienced team,” he said.

“They are well-known members of the Gippsland community and have built up a solid reputation of backing the products they sell and being there for their customers over several decades.

David Turnbull says his team is thrilled to have joined the Daimler Truck network.

“We are very excited to be selling and supporting such high-quality trucks and buses from Daimler Truck,” he said.

“Our customers will certainly benefit from these great Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and Fuso products and we already know that they are well supported from the factory,” Mr Turnbull said.

Aftersales and network operations vice president, Antonio Briceño says customers will benefit from the appointment. 

“Eastern Victoria is a crucial region for Daimler Truck and we are so pleased to welcome Turnbulls Gippsland to our network and really bolster our support in that part of Victoria,” he said.

“Their customer support is second to none, and that makes them a great fit for Daimler Truck,” he said.