NFDA ‘confident’ that UK CV growth will continue for rest of 2015

The recent sustained growth in new commercial vehicle registrations in the UK should continue for at least the rest of 2015, according to the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA). Sue Robinson, the association’s director, said she is “encouraged by the continued growth”, commenting on figures published by ACEA. The NFDA represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers across the UK.

In June, there was an increase in demand for new commercial vehicles for the sixth consecutive month. All the major markets posted growth, with Spain continuing to have the highest growth at almost 50 per cent. The UK experienced double-digit growth along with the other major European markets of Italy, France and Germany.

In the first semester of 2015, the UK saw the second best growth in the EU after Spain, with commercial vehicle sales up 21.8 per cent. This was higher than the increase in the EU market as a whole, which saw a rise of 12.9 per cent. Germany, France and Italy experienced single digit growth.

Robinson stated, “In June, the heavy truck market (over 16 tonnes) experienced the highest rise in the EU at 32.7 per cent. Italy saw a massive increase of 50.5 per cent, while Spain experienced astounding growth of 105 per cent. The UK was in third place in this market sector, with a nonetheless impressive increase of 39.7 per cent.

“However, in terms of growth so far this year, the UK is in pole position, with an increase of 57.7 per cent in heavy commercial vehicle registrations. This is above the level of growth for the EU as a whole, which stands at 20.3 per cent, and far above Germany, where registrations have only increased 2.2 per cent.

“New medium and heavy commercial vehicles saw strong growth in all major EU economies. Spain once again had the highest boost in registrations at over 102.2 per cent, with the UK’s growth of 36 per cent behind Italy and France, but ahead of Germany at 11.3 per cent, and the EU as a whole at 31.4 per cent. It should also be kept in mind that government incentives are the driving force behind much of Spain’s growth in commercial vehicle registrations.

“For the year so far, Germany saw a slight decline of 0.4 per cent compared to last year. The UK saw similar growth to Spain on the whole; Spain saw an increase of 44.3 per cent, and the UK 42.7 per cent. In the EU, 15.9 per cent more medium and heavy trucks were registered.

“The light commercial vehicle market saw the lowest growth. New registrations increased by 16.3 per cent in the EU compared to June of last year. The UK saw growth of 16.4 per cent, again behind Spain, but ahead of Italy, Germany and France.

“For the year so far, commercial vehicle registrations have increased 12.3 per cent for the EU, and 19.8 per cent in the UK. Of the larger EU economies, only France saw no serious growth, with a rise of 0.8 per cent.

Robinson concluded, “The NFDA and our members are confident that both the UK and EU commercial vehicle markets will continue to grow for the remainder of 2015.”