“In what is traditionally a slow volume month for commercial vehicle sales, it was encouraging to see a healthy 15.3% growth in registrations”, said Sue Robinson, Director of the National Franchised Dealers Association which represents commercial vehicle and franchised car retailers across the UK, commenting on the SMMT’s van and truck registration figures.
August is typically a small market as buyers wait for the 65-plate change in September before purchasing a new vehicle. Therefore, this month’s figures show confidence in the economy is high, and there has been an on-going demand for online sales and deliveries - meaning fleets of light commercials were replaced throughout the month.
Robinson continued, “The most significant growth in the van market came from larger 2.5 – 3.5tonne vans that are typically used in distribution - a 14.2% increase was recorded.
“Sales of smaller vans continued a similar trend to last year, with the only exception coming from the 4x4 pick-ups which recorded a very positive 172.9% increase. However, it should be noted that this is a small market which registered 584 vehicles this August compared with 214 in August 2014. The overall sub 3.5tonne CV market recorded a growth of 14.3% in the month, and year-to-date registrations showed an overall increase 16.8%.
“Heavier commercials and trucks saw a 20.2% increase in registrations, however this still remained lower than the year-to-date growth of 38.3%. The 3.5 – 6.0tonne sector is small in the UK, but still recorded an extremely positive 70.2% increase in August.
“The artic tractor market performed well again in August with 33.8% growth, although a large proportion of these models were the heavier 3 axle artic that carry the maximum permitted payload. This shows further confidence in growth in the economy as most of these units are used for volume distribution.
“Overall, the commercial vehicle market looks set to be buoyant for the remainder of 2015, which comes as good news after 2014 was burdened with major legislative changes for the HGV industry. We look forward to seeing what next month’s market holds following the 65-plate change.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Rupal Rawal, Press Officer Tel: 020 7307 3412 Mob: 07528 977 157 Press Office direct line: 020 7307 3422 Press Office fax: 020 7307 3406 Web: www.rmif.co.uk Email: rupal.rawal@rmif.co.uk
The Retail Motor Industry represents the interests of operators in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man providing sales and services to motorists and businesses. The RMI has a formal association with the independent Scottish Motor Trade Association which represents the retail motor industry in Scotland.