• Overall bus and coach volumes fall 16.1% in month and 13.2% in year to date.
• Midi-buses (8.5-16t) registrations rose by 10.9% in November.
• Coach volumes rise 7.4% in November and 20.7% over the year to date.
“Bus and coach registrations collectively fell in all but one month this year. November’s drop was in line with the
year-to-date picture and we expect full year volumes below 7,000 units. This compares with an already weak
7,984 units in 2009, and a 2007 total of 12,241 units,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. “But the
continued rise in coach numbers is welcome; volumes are up by more than a fifth over the year to date. There
was also good news in November with mini-bus numbers up 24.3% and midi-buses up 10.9% and strong growth
for hybrids.”
There are very long lead times in the bus and coach sector between orders or sales and registrations and delivery.
This means the recession took longer hit the sector’s registrations. They may also take longer to recover.
