June a good month for van sales; not so good for trucks

Commenting on the SMMT’s van and truck registration figures for June, Sue Robinson, Director of the National Franchised Dealers Association which represents commercial vehicle and franchised car retailers across the UK, said: “June has been a good turning point in the year for the commercial vehicle market, and we have seen a modest improvement in overall sales figures”.

Total commercial vehicle figures show registrations rose 25.5 per cent in June to 33,941, rolling year up 16.4 per cent to 344,762.

Van demand in June was up 33.3 per cent. The rise in sales was significant in the heavy van sector where almost 5,000 more 3.5t were registered than this time last year. This was fuelled by second quarter dealer targets which concluded at the end of June.

It was a subdued month yet again for the truck market which continued its downward trend by -19.2 per cent. The year-to-date change was -22.9 per cent. The market indicates a progressive wash-through of pre-registered euro 5 stock.
Robinson continued, “Looking ahead into the second half of the year, dealers are optimistic that the van market will remain healthy with a return to a more normal replacement cycle for HGV trucks sustaining the market.”