Commercial vehicle sales rise in May

"It is encouraging that new truck and van sales increased in May with the overall market up 10 per cent in comparison to the same month last year” said Sue Robinson, Director of the RMI National Franchised Dealers Association which represents commercial vehicle and franchised car retailers across the UK, commenting on the SMMT’s van and truck registration figures. Robinson continued "Van sales improved in May, for the first time in 2012, up 6.7 per cent.

“The sector recording the largest boost in sales is the small vans up to 2 tons, up 11.6 per cent. A good proportion of these vans are sold as private vehicles or to small businesses and the self employed indicating growth in confidence amongst this market. The truck market continued to perform well in May, up 31.5 per cent with growth in all most all sectors.

“The sector recording the greatest improvement in May is the small 3.5 to 6ton trucks, up a massive 113 per cent. A large proportion of these vehicles are purchased by local authorities whose financial year ends in April. This often results in all their new vehicles being registered in May. 

“The sector recording the steadiest improvement in 2012 is the rigid chassis trucks over 16ton, up 60.7 per cent in May and up 53.7 per cent year to date. This indicates continued confidence in the industries that use this type of vehicle, namely the construction and distribution industries.”