CV sales up by more than a quarter in July

“Sales of commercial vehicles continued to increase in July with registrations up 25.8 per cent”, said Sue Robinson, director of the 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.

Total commercial vehicle figures released recently show registrations were up 13.1 per cent for the year-to-date and 18.4 per cent over the rolling year.

The majority of the growth came from van sales in the 2.0 – 2.5 tonne sector, where over 2300 more vans were registered compared to July last year. This was fuelled by the continually improving economy and the switching to internet sales and deliveries. There are also now more self-employed people working in service industries that require a van or dual purpose vehicle.

Heavier vans – 2.5-3.5 tonne saw an additional 3300 vehicles registered, marking a 32 per cent growth.

Robinson continued, “Although the truck sector continued its downward trend with a decline of -16.3 per cent, there are indications of improvement since the surge of Euro 5 chassis which were registered last December prior to the Euro6 introduction. Heavy rigid chassis over 16 tonnes were up 7.4 per cent; these vehicles are often used in construction.

“The -16.3 per cent change is less than the year to date decline, thus indicating that many of the pre-registration Euro 5 trucks have now been sold and the HGV market should begin to stabilise soon.”