A steady demand for vans in April contributes to healthy growth in CV market

 

Van and truck registration figures for April including year to date data has been released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) this week. Commercial vehicle (CV) registrations increased 30.9% in April to 24,370 units and grew 11.8% during the year so far. Based on such strong figures, it seems like the commercial van segment is leading the way to an improved outlook for the overall market. Van registrations rose 43% to 20,751 units in the month, and grew 17.6% during the year-to-date. For more details and specific graphical data, please visit the SMMT website here.

Despite the boom in van sales, the demand for trucks fell 12.1% to 3,619 units in the month and declined 15.5% during the first four months of 2013. It is being speculated that buyers are possibly delaying truck purchases and exhibiting caution until the new Euro 6 legislation kicks in later in the year.



One manufacturer that is leading the pack in both car and CV sales is Ford. Along with the SMMT's announcement, Ford have issued a glowing press release sharing their good fortunes in regards to increasing its car and commercial vehicle (CV) sales in April and for the year to date, compared with 2012. Impressively, the Ford Transit is now the UK’s sixth best-selling vehicle in April, with the Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus being listed as the UK’s number one and two best sellers in the SMMT report. Ford Fiesta van also leads its segment by a clear margin, taking 60.8 per cent of its segment for the year to date.

Total sales of Ford CVs in April were up from 3,822 to 5,900, compared with the same month last year, with share up from 18.5 to 22.8 per cent. For the year to date (end April), Ford CV sales are up from 20,628 to 24,659 with share up from 20.6 to 22.5 per cent, compared with the same period last year.

All in all it’s fantastic news for the van market as a whole. We will have to see if the trend will continue to rise and if the truck, bus, and coach sectors can bounce back from their decline in recent sales.