Confidence wobbles on sales
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Truck manufacturers started 1997 with cautious optimism. One year on, the longed-for sales take-off is still around the corner. Will things be any better in 1998? There are plenty of reasons to think not...
by Brian Weatherley • Can a truck market that's down by more than 9% be described as anything other than "disappointing"? Last year 45,617 trucks and artics were registered in the UK—a drop of 4,536 compared with 1996.
Optimistic
The industry started last year feeling cautiously optimistic but, despite a change in Government. favourable retail sales, and a generally healthy economy, the long-awaited sales revival seems no closer.
According to Leyland Daf boss David Gill, the impact of the 1996 "Euro-2 cloud" lasted longer than expected. Add to that the uncertainty building up to the election and the Chancellor's first Budget, and 1997 got off to a slow first half.
As ever, the end-of-year registration figures show who's won and lost in the marketplace. For the seventh year in succession the Iveco Group finished on top; second place went to the Leyland Daf/Foden combine; while MercedesBenz held on to third place with 7,199 sales, despite a 14% drop last year.
Forecasts for 1998 are already running at anything from 42,000-50,000 units. Only time will tell...