Half-year commercial vehicle registrations show a 7.6% increase over the same point in 2012, according to the latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
So far this year, 154,497 new units have been registered, light commercial vehicles spearheading the year-on-year improvement with an 11.2% gain over 2012 with 133,177 registrations. This offsets the 10.4% drop in half-year truck registrations with 21,320 new units recorded so far in 2013.
Truck registrations increased significantly in June, however. An 11.7% rise, compared with the same month last year, contrasts with the 3.4% increase for vans month-on-month.
Nigel Base, SMMT Commercial Vehicle Manager, said, “Looking ahead to the rest of 2013, we expect the van market to remain stable with a return to a more normal replacement cycle sustaining the market.
“For trucks, growth in June could be the first sign of a Q3/Q4 recovery as buyers pick from late Euro 5 or new Euro 6 models ahead of new Euro-standard legislation hitting from 2014.”
Two- and three-axle artics saw the biggest rise in June numbers with gains of 84.7% and 29.2% respectively. So far this year this means artic registrations are now up 1.2% to 7,724 units.
While rigid registrations remain hardest hit, 15.9% below their level at this point last year, June 2013 figures almost matched those for 2012 with a drift of just 0.1%.