- Bus and coach registrations fell 18.4% to 622 units in April.
- Registrations declined 17.6% in the first four months of 2013 to 2,559 units.
- Purpose-built bus and coach registrations dropped 28.9% to 302 units in the month.
- Converted bus registrations also fell in April, 5% to 320 units.
- Full-size coaches had a relatively good month, registering 106 units, benefiting from an early Easter.
“The bus and coach sector continues to decline with April registrations dropping 18.4% to 622 units. This is not an unexpected slide and based on year-to-date registrations we anticipate the remainder of 2013 to be challenging,” said Wendy Williamson, SMMT Bus and Coach Manager. “The sector saw a boost last year but it is widely expected to stabilise in 2013.”
UK bus and coach registrations: 2013 and % change on 2012
| April | % change | Year-to-date | % change | Rolling year | % change | |
| Purpose-built single-deck buses <8.5t | 20 | -9.1% | 41 | -28.1% | 101 | -4.7% |
| Purpose-built single-deck buses >8.5t to 12t | 27 | -34.1% | 111 | 0.9% | 330 | 17.9% |
| Purpose-built single-deck buses >12t to 16t | 19 | -80.8% | 212 | -29.1% | 755 | -9.5% |
| Purpose-built single-deck buses >16t | 32 | -67.0% | 120 | -33.0% | 427 | 23.8% |
| Purpose-built double-deck buses | 87 | -7.4% | 405 | -31.7% | 1149 | -27.3% |
| Purpose-built bus total | 185 | -47.6% | 889 | -28.2% | 2762 | -12.2% |
| Purpose-built coaches 3.5t to 16t | 11 | 266.7% | 25 | -21.9% | 41 | -50.0% |
| Purpose-built single-deck coaches >16t | 101 | 55.4% | 321 | 7.4% | 643 | -4.3% |
| Purpose-built double-deck coaches >16t | 5 | 25.0% | 22 | 10.0% | 33 | 26.9% |
| Purpose-built coach total | 117 | 62.5% | 368 | 4.8% | 717 | -8.1% |
| Purpose-built bus and coach total | 302 | -28.9% | 1257 | -20.9% | 3479 | -11.4% |
| *Converted: Bus <3.5t | 69 | -21.6% | 239 | 0.0% | 870 | 63.2% |
| *Converted: Bus 3.5t to 8.5t | 250 | 0.8% | 1062 | -16.8% | 3203 | 26.6% |
| *Converted: Bus >8.5t | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | 0.0% | 4 | -55.6% |
| *Converted bus total | 320 | -5.0% | 1302 | -14.1% | 4077 | 32.7% |
| *All buses and coaches | 622 | -18.4% | 2559 | -17.6% | 7556 | 8.0% |
Click through to download the April 2013 bus and coach registrations news release and data tables.
