UK truck market defies forecasts
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By David Wilcox
WITH ALMOST HALF the year gone, the UK truck market continues to defy forecasts of only modest growth this year. The latest registrations data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows new truck numbers (over 3.5-tonne GVW) in the first five months of 2012 are running 28.2% ahead of the same period last year, totalling 20,219.
May was the 20th consecutive month of growth, thanks largely to the continued recovery in the market for rigid truck chassis: their numbers so far this year are up by 54.4%. Tractor unit registrations, which surged ahead so strongly last year, are down by 6% in the first five months of 2012.
Daf registrations so far this year are up by 58.7%, taking its share of the over 6-tonne GVW market to a new record level of 30.6%, almost twice as much as second-placed Mercedes-Benz (16.2%). Iveco is another company making strong progress this year, with its registrations up by 49.2%, boosting its share of the over 6-tonne GVW market from 6.4% to 7.8%.
Nearly all manufacturers’ registration numbers are up in 2012, with the notable exception of the two Volvo Group subsidiaries, Volvo Trucks and Renault Trucks, down 14% and 10.4% respectively. Volvo Trucks occupied third place in this sector a year ago: now it is fifth, overtaken by Scania (third) and MAN (fourth).
Registrations of vans up to 3.5-tonne GVW have dropped so far this year, but an increase of 6.7% in May gives the SMMT some hope that this trend has bottomed out and that better times are ahead.
“It’s too early to know if the change in fortunes for the van market is a sign of things to come, but coupled with the strong truck performance, it is a welcome signal of increased confidence across the CV sector,” says SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt.