Dismal August for UK manufacturers
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• Britain's surviving truck manufacturers have turned in disastrous August sales figures. ERF, Seddon Atkinson and Foden registrations all fell to around 50% of their August 1989 sales levels, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Overall sales over 3.5 tonnes were down by more than 30% on August 1989. Renault Truck Industries was the only manufacturer to sustain its August sales at 1989 levels; but its year-to-date performance mirrors the market trend, running 31% down on last year.
Leyland Daf held its market lead in August despite a 20% drop in sales. Runner-up Iveco Ford, turned in a relatively dismal performance with registrations down 39% — Langley's Cargo accounted for a big chunk of the downturn. But lveco Ford led the market for the first eight months, with sales over 3.5 tonnes at 8,428 compared with Leyland Dafs 7,893. AWD, MAN and Mercedes-Benz managed to contain their August losses to around the 13% mark, with Mercedes-Benz faring slightly worse at 18%.
Volvo's August sales were down nearly 25% on last year's figures.
Year-to-date totals painted a depressing picture for Scania, Seddon Atkinson, ERF and Foden; they were all running 40% below their 1989 figures.