Commercial vehicle soles well up on 1978
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COMMERCIAL VEHICLE sales in the UK during 1979 reached an all-time high according to Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders figures.
Sales in December were over 15 per cent up on last year. Total sales for 1979 reached 300,565, narrowly beating the previous best of 300,343 in 1973, and 17 per cent above last year. December was less favourable for importers who finished the year with 23.2 per cent of the UK market :21.8 per cent in 1978).
Ford was market leader, in:Teasing its sales by 24 per cent and accounting for almost a lard of the total market. Next .ame British Leyland (Leyland Vehicles, BL Cars and Land ?,over) with 22 per cent, and ilso showing a small increase )n last year. Bedford was hird, then Dodge.
Volkswagen was top mporter, helped by its strong 'epresentation in the highvolume van sector. It sold 1,714 commercials last year nearly four per cent of the narket). Next highest mporters were Datsun, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota.
Ford sold 17,099 rigids and artics last year, followed by Bedford (15,024) and Leyland Vehicles (13,804).
Ford and Leyland rigid and artic figures were only slightly up on the previous years, whereas Bedford made appreciable headway, as did Dodge in fourth place. Smaller manufacturers Seddon Atkinson, ERF, and Foden also made good progress.
Volvo topped the importers in this sector, with 4052 sales. But Volvo is being caught up by Mercedes-Benz which boosted sales by 40 per cent and ended just 549 behind. DAF was third, and Fiat fourth. Magirus Deutz increased its sales by 52 per cent, Renault increased its by 65 per cent and Fiat showed a 67 per cent rise.
In the van sector, Ford alone sold 41,502 last year. In comparison, Bedford sold 17,892 and Leyland 16,376. BL Austin Morris (29,534) topped the car-derived van sector, with Ford coming in second. BL, Ford, and Bedford accounted for almost 85 per cent of total sales.
The light 4x4 vehicle continued to grow in popularity and 10,656 were sold, compared with 6616 the previous year. Land Rover was market leader with 6418 vehicles but Japanese competitors are catching up.
It is widely expected that commercial vehicle registrations will drop back to 1978 levels this year. SMMT predicted this last October, noting that the van market would be the first to feel the draught.