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Registration boom ;lows but imports up
Page 20
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S PREDICTED, the boom in new commercial vehicle registraons is slowing down. The latest Society of Motor Manufacrrers and Traders figures show that Sepember registrations ere just six per cent up on September 1978.
Although the month's fig-es are above last year's, they present a drop when )mpared with the previous onthly increases this year hich have been around 15-18 .?.r cent up on 1978. This trend as correctly forecast by the kilMT itself (see News Extra, st week's CM).
Imported vehicles continue take an ever-growing slice ' the British commercial thicle market, and in Sepmber accounted for 24.3 per .nt of the market as against per cent in the equivalent onth last year.
The most noticeable drop in e registration figures was in e lorry and artic sector liere Ford sales, which had tailed 2295 last September opped to 1496. But even this ;ure, primarily made up of the evergreen D-Series range sales, was enough to give Ford the leading position in the lorry and attic section, beating Leyland and Bedford respectively.
Surprisingly, the van market held up well last month, rising from 7644 in September of last year to 8838 last month. Imported vans fared particularly well in comparison to a year ago, Mercedes-Benz for example jumping from 124 to 219.
In the car-derived van sector of the British market, registrations rose less last month than in the full-sized van sector. But it was British manufacturers making all the running, with BL Cars' Austin Morris and Bedford making large gains in comparison with September 1978. Light 4 x4 vehicles continue to grow in popularity and sales of these last month at 838 were 275 above the previous September's level. The never-saydie Land-Rover alone accounted for just over half of these sales last month.
For once, the bus and coach market was reasonably active in terms of new vehicle registrations. But this was in the negative sense, with registrations dropping from 421 during September 1978 to 378 last month. Leyland and Bedford sales went down, while Volvo and Ford sailed against the tide and boosted sales in comparison to a year ago.