- Purpose-built bus and coach registrations fell 20.5% to 263 units in July.
- Coach registrations rose 10.5% in the month and are up 8.6% to 596 units for the year-to-date.
- Converted bus registrations fell 17.5% to 240 units.
“The bus and coach sector continues to struggle when compared to last year, with registrations for the market falling 19.1% in the month and down 21.0% for the year-to-date. One bright spot has seen some steady growth for purpose-built coaches, which saw a rise of 10.5% in July raising the year-to-date registrations by 8.6%. However, this has not been enough to lift the whole market,” said Wendy Williamson, SMMT Bus and Coach Manager. “Last year’s strong, Olympics-boosted market has led to a steady downward trend this year. We expect to see registrations level off as we approach the end of 2013.”
UK bus and coach registrations: 2013 and % change on 2012
| July | % change | Year-to-date | % change | Rolling year | % change | |
| Purpose-built single-deck buses <8.5t | 10 | 66.7% | 80 | -14.9% | 103 | -2.8% |
| Purpose-built single-deck buses >8.5t to 12t | 28 | -47.2% | 177 | -13.2% | 302 | -3.8% |
| Purpose-built single-deck buses >12t to 16t | 74 | -1.3% | 473 | -6.7% | 808 | -9.4% |
| Purpose-built single-deck buses >16t | 26 | -59.4% | 214 | -33.1% | 380 | -12.2% |
| Purpose-built double-deck buses | 41 | -28.1% | 676 | -32.1% | 1017 | -39.2% |
| Purpose-built bus total | 179 | -29.8% | 1620 | -23.6% | 2610 | -23.6% |
| Purpose-built coaches 3.5t to 16t | 2 | 100.0% | 32 | -17.9% | 41 | -46.1% |
| Purpose-built single-deck coaches >16t | 77 | 2.7% | 532 | 8.8% | 664 | -6.7% |
| Purpose-built double-deck coaches >16t | 5 | 0.0% | 32 | 52.4% | 42 | 68.0% |
| Purpose-built coach total | 84 | 10.5% | 596 | 8.6% | 747 | -8.1% |
| Purpose-built bus and coach total | 263 | -20.5% | 2216 | -17.0% | 3357 | -20.6% |
| *Converted: Bus <3.5t | 20 | -57.4% | 367 | -23.4% | 758 | 12.5% |
| *Converted: Bus 3.5t to 8.5t | 220 | -9.8% | 1780 | -25.1% | 2822 | -14.6% |
| *Converted: Bus >8.5t | 0 | 0 | 1 | -66.7% | 2 | -75.0% |
| *Converted bus total | 240 | -17.5% | 2148 | -24.8% | 3582 | -10.1% |
| *All buses and coaches | 503 | -19.1% | 4364 | -21.0% | 6939 | -15.5% |
* All vehicle manufacturer-built minibus registrations are included in the converted bus <3.5t category.
** All converted bus volumes are counted in the SMMT van and truck news release. These vehicles are also represented here as they form an important part of the UK bus and coach market.
The tables and charts below detail annual trends by gross vehicle weight and type for the whole bus and coach market, taking data from the purpose-built and converted sectors.
Click through to download the July 2013 bus and coach registrations news release and data tables.
