Peterbilt last year achieved record market share in heavy duty (15.3%), thanks in part to the strength of its newest truck, the Model 589.
With its 2023 debut, the 589 took the mantle of Peterbilt’s over the road tractor from the venerable Model 389, and joined a regal trucking lineage: the 351, 379, 389 and the 359.
Replacing a legacy model with such a rich heritage is risky, but Peterbilt General Manager Jake Montero said reception has been positive, adding the company built more than 6,000 Model 589s last year – the first production year for the truck, and a year when the company produced its 800,000th truck at its Denton, Texas, plant.
“It’s really been embraced by the legacy 389 customers,” he said, adding it’s also found strong footing in the aftermarket with various upfits for customization and chrome.
Order intake of about 6,000 trucks – through a dealer network that reached 432 locations last year – is comparable to a typical order year for Model 389, Montero said. The Model 389 traditionally was about 20% of the Peterbilt order book annually.
The Model 589 and its square exterior remains somewhat of an outlier as OEMs increasingly shed models and options that aren’t aerodynamically optimized.
Peterbilt Director of Medium Duty Sales Mitesh Naik said, indeed the model 589 has an angular throwback look, but it’s flush with technologies and solutions that optimize freight efficiency and safety.
“It’s got to look and feel like a Peterbilt,” he said, noting 589 also makes available Bendix Wingman Fusion – a first for this series of truck. Peterbilt also recently added new LED pod headlights for 589 and its medium duty line, and later this year will debut an updated SmartDisplay infotainment system.
The LED headlights use 30% less power than the halogen equivalent and provide maximum light output with wide coverage and 45-degree left and right low beams.
Late last year, Peterbilt added Apple CarPlay it its infotainment center.
Last month, the Paccar TX-12 PRO automated transmission with PACCAR MX-13 engines was added as an option for the 589.
