Truck registrations
Page 3
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surpass expectations
By David Wilcox
A VERITABLE EXPLOSION of registrations in December brought last year's new truck market to a spectacular crescendo, surpassing even the most optimistic of forecasts.
A total of 10,715 new trucks of 6-tonne GVW or more were registered in December, more than three times as many as in the same month one year ago. It was also a new all-time monthly record, surpassing the previous peak of 10,240 in April 2006 when operators scrambled to buy new trucks before implementation of digital tachographs on 1 May that year.
This huge last-minute rush to register new trucks ahead of the Euro-6 deadline boosted the 2013 total to 49,430, just over 28% up on 2012's total of 38,576 and the highest since 2006. Market analysts had forecast growth of 8% to 10% in 2013 and even that looked doubtful after a slow start to the year: at the
end of the first quarter, registrations were 15.5% behind the previous year's. The strongest growth came from the heavy end of the market. Tractor unit numbers are up 32% year-on-year,
reaching a new all-time record of 22,567. Registrations of all rigid trucks of 6 tonnes GVW totalled 26,863, up by 25.1%, but that overall increase disguises a polarisation according to their weight. Those below 16-tonne GVW were up by 19.3%, while heavier models (16-tonne GVW and above) rose by 29.8%.
It was a poor year for the light trucks/ heavy vans between 3.501 tonnes and 6 tonnes: their numbers fell by 4.7%.
Looking at the market share of the big seven manufacturers in the 6-tonne-plus GVW market, Daf retained a comfortable leadership — but its share was pegged back by half of one percentage point to 28.4%.
The marques immediately behind Daf all grew their shares: Mercedes-Benz's rose to 17.8%; Scania's to 13.9% and Volvo's to 11.2%. MAN and Renault Trucks both lost market share in 2013.
• There will be an analysis of the 2013 truck market in CM 23 January.