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HGV registrations slump by 36%
Page 24
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vs Commercial vehicle sales appear to be in freefall, with registrations down almost 36% in September compared with September 2001.
Only 5,517 units above 3.5 tonnes were registered during September, according to latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers arid Traders, bringing total truck registrations this year to 38,529—almost 11% down on January-September 2001.
However, the September 2001 figure was inflated by the last-minute rush to register Euro-2 vehicles before the change in legislation. The remarkably buoyant September 2001 market was always going to boa tough target to better," says SWAT chief executive Christopher Macgowan. Some marques have bucked the downward trend: Mercedes-Benz registrations, for example, exceeded fast year's by 6011 at 22,428 units, possibly boosted by the arrival of the new Axor (Tesco alone is believed to have ordered 200 for delivery from early November). ether winners include Oaf, with 8,441 registrations compared with 7.463 in 2001.
By way of contrast ERF was down from 2,430 to 1,071 while MAN group registrations fell to 3,383 from 5,248 at the same point last year. Des Evans, executive director of MAN in the UK, (see news headlines) says the results reflect a price increase for Euro-3 vehicles as well as the extremely buoyant Euro-2 market this time last year.
The group is still predicting a yearend total of around 5,000 units. "We've drawn breath this year and now have a platform for stability and growth next year," Evans adds. "We are still in growth mode on both sides of the business."
• Sales of light CVs also fell in September, by 1.7% to 36,539 units. But the January September total is up 4.1% to 201,609.