HGV market down 8.4% in Q3 2021

Registrations of new heavy goods vehicles (HGV) declined 8.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2021. According to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the decrease saw 7,715 trucks registered, some 704 fewer than the Q3 2020 total, which itself was volatile due to the effects of the pandemic. It was also down 9.8 per cent on a particularly weak pre-pandemic total in 2019, which saw orders pulled forward into the second quarter of the year ahead of the introduction of new smart tachograph regulations.

Despite the decline in the third quarter of 2021, year-to-date performance is still 25.3 per cent higher than the pandemic-impacted 2020, with 27,272 vehicles registered in the first nine months of 2021. However, this result is 24.3 per cent lower than during the same period of 2019.

As would be expected given the overall performance, most segments experienced a third quarter decrease in volumes compared to the same period in 2020, with articulated trucks falling by 13.4 per cent year-on-year and rigids by a more modest 5.0 per cent. Tractors, which remain the most popular vehicle body type with 37.3 per cent of the market, declined by 11.8 per cent. On more positive note, dropside lorries and tippers segments saw growth, up by 20.4 per cent and 11.0 per cent respectively.

Significant long-term challenges

“With operators still struggling with acute driver shortages, and global shortages of semi-conductors restricting production, it is disappointing, yet unsurprising, to see the number of registrations fall in the third quarter,” comments Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive. “The sector is also facing significant long-term challenges, with government confirming its ambition to end the sale of all non-zero emission HGVs by 2040. Manufacturers are investing billions into the latest, green technologies, but there is no single technological solution that can meet every HGV use case. Indeed, there may be some specific and limited instances in which electrified technologies are not yet feasible, so flexibility for the future is important. Above all else, however, the industry needs dedicated HGV infrastructure, a plan for which we still await.”