'94 truck sales signal recovery
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by Juliet Parish • Buoyant truck manufacturers are banking on a rise of at least 14% in sales of trucks over 3.5 tonnes in 1994.
Industry optimism follows figures which show registrations in that sector increased by 15.8% in 1993 over the previous year. It provides further evidence that the industry is at last emerging from the worst recession since the war.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, registrations of trucks and artics for the past year were 36,358, up almost 5,000 on 1992. However, sales of light commercial vehicles were disappointing. The 1993 figure of 57,211 was considerably down on the previous year's total of 62,893.
Iveco Ford led the field above 3.5 tonnes in 1993 with 8,214 registrations, followed by Leyland Daf and Mercedes-Benz.
Iveco Ford chief executive Alan Fox says Iveco Group, which includes Seddon Atkinson, had 22.3% of the UK truck market. He attributes much of the success to the new EuroTech tractive unit of which 942 have been sold since its April launch.
Leyland Daf, whose parent company went into receivership in February, says it is happy with its 18.1% market share. Managing director David Gill points the finger at "one maker" whose "exceptional actions" in the week after Christmas had "artificially inflated the market by several hundred vehicles."
The SMMT expects stronger growth this year in the two-axle rigid and LCV sectors. LCV sales will rise by at least 8% over 1993, it predicts.
J For a full review see next week's CM.