More signs of recovery • Sales of trucks and artics
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fell by 2.4% last year, but the signs are that the slow haul back to recovery is underway.
Registrations rose 7.9% in December compared with the same month in 1991: the sixth monthly increase in succession.
According to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders 2,199 trucks and artics were registered during December 1992, compared with 2,037 in December 1991. But at 31,398, the total for the year to date was down on 1991's figure of 32,184 units.
Overall commercial vehicle sales, incuding vans, buses and coaches, were up 7.7% on December 1991, from 11,288 to 12,155.
Truck manufacturers are confident that the increase in sales is not a blip: "It looks as though tractors will lead a modest recovery," says Renault. But it points out that at 31,398 total truck and artic sales for 1992 are still well below the prerecession high of more than 50,000.
Leyland Daf, which retained its market lead last year, says that as far as truck registrations are concerned the market finally appears to have turned the corner.