Boom in Japanese vehicles tails off
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THE JAPANESE light commercial vehicle boom in this country seems to have subsided.
Registrations of Japanese vans and pick-ups in the UK during January 1979 dropped by 43.9 per cent to 935, compared with 1,669 in the same month of 1978.
This was the most significant figure revealed by the monthly Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' registration statistics.
There were no other radical trends developing but it was noticeable that the effects of the Ford dispute some two months earlier were still being felt. Ford commercial vehicles registrations in January 1979 totalled 5,131, compared with 8,470 the previous January.
This delayed-action effect can be accounted for by the time most lorries spend at the bodybuilders before being registered.