British commercials on show

23rd September 1966, Page 69

23rd September 1966

Page 69

Page 69, 23rd September 1966 — British commercials on show

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Keywords : Road Transport, Society Of Motor Manufacturers And Traders, British International Motor Show, Recreational Vehicles, School Buses, Buses, Double-decker Buses, Salter Report, Vehicle Recovery

AT noon today the Minister of Transport, Mrs. Barbara Castle, will open the 23rd Commercial Motor Show; for the next 10 days operators from the United Kingdom and all parts of the world will be able to examine in detail the latest British designs for goods and passenger vehicles. Before the Show closes it is certain that more than 100,000 people will have visited Earls Court.

This year there will be more stands than ever-420 occupying nearly 300,000 sq. ft. of floor area. It is claimed by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders that this year's London Show is the largest single enclosed display of road transport vehicles anywhere in the world.

Although there will be seven non-British chassis manufacturers exhibiting, their share of the UK market is as yet very small; the stars of the Show are the 26 British chassis manufacturers who comprise the backbone of this country's commercial vehicle industry, which lays claim proudly to being the world's largest exporter of commercial vehicles. The remainder of the stands are predominantly those of trailer makers, bodybuilders and producers of engines, components and accessories. Here, too, are many companies with fine export records.

This is, then, the United Kingdom's commercial vehicle industry, and it is no bad thing—once every two years—for operators to remember that their vehicles come from these thoroughbred stables.

Operators speak out

VESTERDAY, at the annual COMMERCIAL MOTOR Fleet Management Conference in London's Hilton Hotel, more than 650 representatives of Britain's commercial vehicle operators and manufacturers discussed current problems in no uncertain voice. The conference, apart from being the largest of its type held in the United Kingdom, is unique in spreading through all sections of this vast industry. It is a conference this journal is proud to sponsor; when a gathering of this size expresses views they carry the weight that sometimes seems lacking in utterances from the industry in this country.

British commercials on show

Page 69

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