Dealers falling down
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• The withdrawal of Bedford from the UK heavy truck market late last year contributed to a 17% fall in the total number of commercial vehicle franchises (excluding van dealers) during 1986, according to the latest truck dealership analysis conducted by Sewells International.
Last year the total number of CV franchises fell from 783 to 654. Volvo, ERF and Daf dealer levels were virtually static, but every other network except Foden, MAN-VW and Scania shrank.
Foden recorded the biggest recent increase in franchises, rising from 10 in 1978 to 45 at the start of 1987. MAN-VW has also made a major expansion in the number of its franchises, from 60 in 1986 to 136 at the start of this year — a jump of 126%.
Iveco Ford was the biggest truck franchise holder at the start of 1987 according to Sewells (the survey does not include the recently-merged Leyland Daf UK).
There were 654 truck franchises at the start of the year, down from 783 in 1986_ In 1979 there were 1,262 truck franchises of all manufacturers.