Van registrations continue to exceed last year’s figures at the half-year point compared to 2013, while the truck market’s decline was ongoing and the bus and coach sector remained steady.
Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed positive signs for the van sector, as it recorded a 33.3% increase on the same month last year, pushing the year-to-date figures to 16.8% ahead of 2013.
Both vans between 2.0 and 2.5 tonnes and 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes vehicles saw the biggest increases in registrations compared to June 2013, 42.8% and 34.6% respectively, while the two tonne sector saw its registration figures improve on last year, up 17.5%.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “The van market has shown another strong performance in June, yielding higher-than-expected growth for the year so far. This has helped the total commercial vehicle market achieve half-year growth of more than 11%, despite a somewhat depressed truck sector.”
The commercial vehicle sector as a whole grew 25.5% compared to the same month in 2013, ensuring the year-to-date figures stayed a healthy 11.3% ahead at the half-year mark.
The truck market continues to struggle with none of the categories managing an increase on registrations compared to June 2013. The 2-axle artic market suffered the most, seeing its registrations fall 45.9% compared to the same month last year, meaning it is now 27.6% behind for the year-to-date.
Meanwhile the bus and coach market enjoyed a steady month as its registrations rose 0.3% on June 2013, with the sector remaining ahead of the year-to-date by 3.4%.
The biggest winners in this sector were the purpose-built buses under 8.5 tonnes, double-deck buses, coaches between 3.5 and 16 tonnes and converted buses under 3.5 tonnes, which saw 40%, 35.2%, 75% and 62.5% increases respectively.
Hawes added, “The purpose-built sector recovered from a subdued May with a 19.1% rise, and although the converted bus market fell 16.8% in the month, year-to-date registrations have grown 13.5%. With overall volumes up 11.1% for the last 12 months, the signs remain encouraging for the second half of 2014.”
