1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162 
Truck makers under fire from BVRLA
Page 54
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The BVRLA is not impressed by truck manufacturers for satisfying Eastern European markets at the expense of the UK, slowing domestic fleet replacement programmes. Kevin Swallow reports.
The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) has expressed alarm at the shortage of new trucks in the UK as manufacturers look to meet demand in Eastern Europe.
Director-general John Lewis, speaking for the BVRLA membership, says 18-month lead times for maximum-weight tractors pose a threat to BVRLA members, road transport and general public.
Most modern
BVRLA members operate more than 150,000 trucks,"a very high percentage of the most modern and environmentally efficient trucks in the UK commercial fleet," Lewis reports.
Having to compromise the quality of that rolling stock because of order problems "is already causing issues in the rollout of digital tachograph and Euro-4-compliant vehicles across all branches", he adds.
"This will knock on into members' customers' operations as they seek to rationalise their own commercial progress within the new technologies.As for the general public, this slow-down in fleet modernisation, which some manufacturers are claiming will last for at least another 18 months, is going to have a serious effect on the environment.
"There is no doubt the Euro-4/5 solutions we had been expecting to come onto our roads would have been significant advances in clean road transport. The fact that these trucks will now be missing in great numbers can only be deplored, and we would urge manufacturers to get their house in order as rapidly as possible.
Few examples
"There cannot be too many examples in recent times of a manufacturing industry of this size getting its production forecasts so very wrong, and so seriously damaging the interests of both customers and public alike," says Lewis.
For example, operators waiting to upgrade their fleet to LEZ-compliant vehicles will be hit heavily when the London lowemission zone comes into force on 4 February. Either they'll have to rent a truck or pay the penalty fine, and these costs will have to be passed onto customers."