Mercedes-Benz in pole position as truck sales recover
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justin.stanton@rbi.co.uk TRUCK REGISTRATIONS continued their rebound in January: up 77.8% on January 2010’s alltime low and down just 17.4% on January 2009’s total.
According to data from the SMMT, 2,136 medium and heavy trucks over 6 tonnes were registered in January 2011, nearly double the volume of a year ago (1,201) and not far off the igure from two years ago (2,586).
The truck market was spurred on by a six-fold increase in registrations of two-axle tractors and a doubling of three-axle tractors.
Over 6 tonnes, Mercedes-Benz had the biggest share, ahead of DAF, Volvo, MAN, Scania, Renault and Iveco.
Van registrations were up 48.5% compared with January 2010 to 17,154; this igure also represents a 46% improvement on January 2009, and is just 22.5% down on January 2008’s record high.
“Strong growth continues for van and truck registrations, although uncertainty remains over the year ahead,” says Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.
“The rise in the van and truck markets is a good start to the year, but next month’s Budget could prove crucial if freight operators’ concerns over fuel duty and access to credit for business investment are not addressed.”