Van sales up, truck sales down in March

Continuing the recent trend, van registrations increased 11.5 per cent in March, contributing to an overall commercial vehicles registrations sales rise of 8.1 per cent.
Commenting on the SMMT's van and truck registration figures, Sue Robinson, Director of the National Franchised Dealers Association which represents commercial vehicle and franchised car retailers across the UK said:

“The Commercial Vehicle market as a whole continues to perform strongly, which is positive news for Commercial Vehicle dealers. However, it is disappointing to see a decline in truck sales of 15.1 per cent. 

“The strongest improvement this March came from the pick-up sector, a vehicle often favoured by the self employed and building industries, with an increase of 29.2 per cent. The Light Commercial Vehicle market was up 23 per cent for the month, highlighting the confidence of users to replace vehicles that many have been retaining for too long and running up repair costs.” 

Robinson continued: “The truck sector decline may be disappointing, but it is encouraging to see an increase in tractor sales for the first time in a long time. This can be attributed to operators buying up the remaining Euro 5 stock on dealer forecourts before the introduction of more expensive Euro 6 units.  

“The Commercial Vehicle show at the NEC starting 9 April will inform truck operator’s price levels of new models and new Euro 6 variants. Once buyers have finalised their purchasing decisions, this should stimulate heavy truck sales in the next few months.”