April Registration Returns Analysed
Page 49
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
THE total number of motor vehicles registered for the first time during April, 1335, was appreciably higher than that for April, 1934, being 38,716 contrasted with 30,894. Although private cars are, of course, mainly responsible for the increase, there were useful advances in both classes for commercial vehicles, particularly in the hackney section. The number of goods vehicles registered was 5,620, as against 5,305, tvhilst the hackneyvehicle total at 803 compared with 281.
In the class for petrol goods vehicles, the grass total advanced from 5,076 to 5,369 and, although there were definite. improvements in most of the classes below the 2f-ton limit, there was a, decided drop in the 4-2-ton category, the figure of 1,419 for last year falling to 1,171 in April last, In the division for vehicles not exceeding 12 cwt., the number of vehicles licensed rose from 771 in April, 1944, to 1,016 a year later. In the 12-cwt.1-ton (781) and 1-4-ton (538) sectiuns there was little variation in the figures for the two years, but in the 2-21-ton class a notable increase was recorded, last year's figure of 1,048 rising to 1,436.
In the 4-3-ton category, the 225 registrations for April of this year compared with 270 a year ago, and, in the 3-4-ton class, the figures were 156 and 177 respectively. In the 4-5-ton section, this year's total of 35 was less than half that of the previous year. There were no petrol goods vehicles licensed in the grades above 8-tonners. It is interesting to note that the oil-. engined goods vehicles licensed are almost the same as a year ago-126 against 125. Once again the main registrations are recorded in the 3-4-ton (35) and 4-5-ton (24) classes, although the division not exceeding 2i-tonners and that for 6-7-tonners were not far behind the last-named and showed good percentage advances on last year's totals. Of the oilers registered this year, 28 were licensed for ' drawing trailers, as against 38 a year earlier.
Only four steam vehicles were registered, as against eight in April, 1934.
An improvement is again shown in the returns for electric vehicles, which have made headway for Several months past. The figures show that the main registrations continue to take place in the lightest classes and actually 34 of the registrations for April last were in the two categories for vehicles not exceeding an unladen weight of one ton. The total of 40 electric-vehicle registrations compared with 31 a year ago: The total for goods vehicles includes 132 six-wheelers-87 of the rigid type and 45 of the articulated pattern, figures which contrast with 170 and 61 respectively for April, 1934. Only one eight-wheeler was registered in April last year, but this year's comparable figure is 15.
In the classes for agricultural vans and lorries, there were 76 registrations, as against 58 in April, 1934. In both cases they were all petrol-engined.
Although the larger number of taxicabs that were registered (212 against
94) helped to swell the tatei for petrol hackney vehicles, material advances were also recorded in certain of the categories for buses and coaches. For instance, 179 registrations of 26-32seaters compares with 60 a year ago, whilst 59 32-40-seaters were licensed as against 2 in April, 1934. In the section for 48-56-seater double-deckers, headway was also made, last year's total of 14 rising to 34 in April, 1935. The 20-26-seater class also made progress (36 registrations compared with 6), but in the 14-20-seater division the registrations fell from 55 to 42. The total number of petrol-engined hackneys was 573, as against 246 a year ago.
A particularly good chewing was made by off-engined hackneys, and last year's small total of 35 was advanced to 223, the registrations in the different grades being as follow:-14-20-seaters, 9; 20-26-seaters, 1; 26-32-seaters, 27 (13); 32-40-seaters, 68 (3); 40-48seaters, 74; 48-56-seaters, 44 (18), the figures in parentheses being last year's registrations, the total of which also embodied one 56-64-seater. The total is completed by seven trolleybuses.
A total of 31 tractors was registered, two-thirds of them (21) being agricultural, and the others for generalhaulage purposes; the number compares with 43 a year ago.
The aggregate returns for the four months ended April last show that 24,900 goods vehicles and 2,241 hackney vehicles were registered, the comparable figures for last year being 24„135 and 1,387 respectively.