Rise in coach volumes fails to offset falling bus registrations
• Big bus volumes fall 16.1% in September and 38.9% over the year to date.
• Big coach volumes rise 52.0% in September and 9.5% over the year to date.
• Minibuses (3.5 to 5t gvw) slip 1.6% in September.
“A good performance by the coach sector failed to halt a further decline in overall bus and coach registrations in September,” said Paul Everitt, the SMMT’s chief executive. “Though coach registrations rose in all but two months of 2010, September’s is the result of structural changes. The outlook is tough with worries that austerity measures may further slow bus market recovery. The rise in the numbers of low carbon buses this month is good news; we hope that greening the fleet will deliver more economic and environmental gains.”
There are long lead times in the bus and coach sector between orders, sales and registrations. This ensured the tough economic climate gripped the sector later than other markets and is likely to mean the recovery is slower to take hold.
