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Imports capture one quarter UK market
Page 20
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IMPORTED COMMERCIAL VEHICLES captured a quarter of the British market last month according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
With 25.1 per cent of the market, foreign manufacturers continued to make good progress in Britain, holding just 21.5 per cent in October last year. Leading imported manufacturer in the lorry and artic sector was, as usual, Volvo with 374 vehicles sold last month.
But other foreign manufacturers are hard on their heels. Mercedes-Benz, for instance, sold just 31 vehicles less than the Swedish company in October.
Daf sold 220 vehicles last month, compared with 171 in the same month last year; while Magirus Deutz, Fiat and MAN also showed considerable improvement. Over the whole commercial-vehicle market in Britain the boom in sales continued last month; but there were signs that it is slowing down. Sales in October were 9.7 per cent above the same month last year, whereas during earlier months this year they had been 15-20 per cent above last year's figures.
Of the British truck and attic manufacturers, Bedford suffered badly from its shortage of components caused by the industrial troubles at the Ellesmere Port plant, and sales fell from 1,852 for the corresponding period last year to 1,298.
Ford, on the other hand, had a bumper month when compared with its strike-torn 1978 October, and sales were exactly double at 2,086. Dodge and Foden both showed fair improvements.
In the van market, imported vehicles also took a bigger share of the market than last October. Datsun, Toyota and Honda from Japan all made headway, although Ford still accounts for a third of the sales, mainly through its evergreen Transit.
Sales in the car-derived van market dropped last month in comparison with the previous October — operators seeming to opt for the larger vans.