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Watching the numbers
Page 21
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This year's sales mirror last year's almost completely and the lease market is giving demand an unusually stable profile.
Chris Thorneycroft-Smith, UK market director, lveco
As a full-range manufacturer we monitor the market at 3.5 tonnes, and above 3.5 tonnes. And the word that characterises both to the end of April is consistency. It's a mistake to look at one month in isolation, because April's registrations are the result of sales made at the end of last year. We look more for trends, and at these two weights the trend is almost flat IThe, with 1.1% growth overall (452 units) for the year to date.
That's remarkable, and the way CVs are being bought has much to do with it. The big are getting bigger, while the small are either consolidating or disappearing. The bigger the fleet, the more likely they are to acquire vehicles via things like leasing and contract hire, so at the end of a three to f iveyear contract the vehicle has to be replaced. That creates a market and brings a stability to demand that normal market forces could not emulate.
After a slower start to the year 3.5-tonners turned up slightly in April to return the sector to 2004 levels.
Also up were 7.5-tonners. Admittedly this was by only 2%, but the underlying trend remains strong at this weight and we see absolutely no evidence of a move towards 10 or 12-tonners.
April saw18-tonners strengthened indeed, there's now only an 18-unit difference in the year-todate market. However, there's a definite drift away from 18-tonners to 6>2s, mainly by hauliers seeking additional payload flexibility.
Tractors improved in April too, a little. Surprisingly, 4x2s that are strengthening, even though they're still outsold three to one by 6x2s.
The outlook post-election? More of the same particularly if the government moves early on interest rates,