In the years leading up to deregulation, White’s Western Star trucks developed a rugged reputation among small fleets and owner-operators. The company often created custom modifications for customers on the factory floor in Kelowna, B.C.
By 1981 however, White Motor Co. was insolvent and sold its truck operations to Volvo AB. Western Star was sold again in 1990 before Daimler Trucks North America (then DaimlerChrysler) purchased it in 2000 and moved production to the United States to strengthen its position in the vocational and owner-operator markets.
“We have had the opportunity to take advantage of what Daimler brings,” said Kelley Platt, Western Star president and chief diversity officer for DTNA. “The Detroit powertrain makes a huge difference to us, not just in terms of fuel economy but also in terms of reliability and having something that can be specified specifically for our vocational vehicles.”
As Western Star continues to diversify its product line, the brand has become an important – yet comparatively small – part of DTNA’s portfolio alongside the company’s Freightliner brand in recent years. With the launch of the 4700 model in 2011, the 5700XE – the brand’s first aerodynamic on-highway model – in 2014, the XD Off-road package in 2016 and the newly announced XD-25 (click to read the test drive), Western Star has grown its total U.S. and Canadian Class 8 market share from 1.9 percent to 3.4 percent in the last five years.
Peter Arrigoni, Western Star’s vice president of sales, says the recent market share growth is despite the rapid decline of the oil field sector, once a mainstay for the company that has seen truck sales drop in that segment from 1,240 units in 2011 to just 299 units last year. “If the oil field markets come back and experience some real recovery, we would expect to grow along with that,” he said.
Platt says Western Star plans to grow to 8 percent market share in the U.S. and Canadian Class 8 market by 2025. If Western Star is to continue its recent successes, Platt notes the opportunities that exist in the vocational market that she says represents one-third of the total U.S. and Canadian Class 8 market.
