Hauliers aren’t ready for Euro-6, say manufacturers
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By Kevin Swallow
MANUFACTURERS are bracing themselves for the introduction of Euro-6, with warnings that the next diesel engine emission standards are not “on the minds” of smalland mediumsized operators.
Euro-6 becomes mandatory for all newly registered trucks from 1 January 2014, and manufacturers have told CM that uncertainty still remains over its impact on new and used sales over the next 18 months.
Nigel Butler, commercial director at Renault Trucks, tells CM: “In most cases, [smalland medium-sized operators] seem to be vaguely aware of Euro-6, but they don’t have any comprehension on the impact of the change.” Furthermore, Butler says, an unstable economy means that it is difficult to base predictions for the impact of emission level changes on historic movements.
“My fear for the UK is that we have a repeat of the period immediately after the change to Euro-4, where operators delayed making decisions,” adds Butler. “By the time operators had begun to place orders in the UK, customers in mainland Europe had begun to soak up production capacity – meaning many operators faced extended lead times.” He explains that, while this was inconvenient for many operators back in 2007 and 2008, if the scenario were to be repeated, UK truck buyers could lose out on the opportunity to buy the last of the Euro-5 products coming off the production lines.
Equally, Keith Child, marketing director at Isuzu Trucks, has warned of a pre-Euro-6 spike in sales of Euro-5 trucks.
“We are expecting to achieve a higher level of sales of Euro-5 products in the months leading up to Euro-6 implementation, and deflated sales during the first half of 2014,” he says.
The knock-on effect for the used trucks market could mean high residual values for Euro-5 vehicles throughout 2013 and 2014.
Child adds: “Certainly customers with older vehicles, when their running costs start to increase, will look for good, used Euro-5 vehicles. And once Euro-6 comes into force, the gap between the price they’ll get for their older vehicle and the price of a Euro-6 vehicle will get wider.” Butler concurs that demand for used vehicles will be “very strong” in the same period, with demand for Euro-5 becoming buoyant as supplies become limited.