SMMT has today published its latest figures for UK fleet renewal with brand-new trucks, buses, coaches and minibuses which – unlike our monthly new car and LCV market figures – we publish quarterly. It means this week we’re looking at the second quarter of 2024, back in the Spring, and I’m pleased to say the results have been worth the wait.
With truck registrations rising by 2.6%, some 11,469 of the latest, most fuel efficient and cutting-edge models entered service, making this year’s Q2 the best since 2019. It’s very positive that the new HGV market as a whole continues to keep up with a bumper 2023, when we saw the fulfilment of pent-up demand after the pandemic. Growth is being driven by rigid truck uptake which is reflected in the composition of the most in demand body types, with businesses investing in more box vans, curtainsiders, tippers and refuse vehicles.
Perhaps most positively of all, more businesses are gaining confidence to go green with electric truck uptake increasing by 30.0%, representing around one in 165 new HGVs purchased. It means the UK now has the second largest volume market in Europe for the latest and greenest trucks. Rigids in particular are a popular option for zero emission vehicle models given many follow set routes from the depot, however, operators’ need for support to invest in new charging infrastructure continues to hold back the market.
It’s a big challenge highlighted in SMMT’s HGV transition paper launched at the Commercial Vehicle Show in April. As we look ahead to a busy delivery period in quarter three, with many operators taking delivery of new trucks in the lead up to Christmas, an up-to-date Plug-Truck Grant and infrastructure support continues to be needed for these green shoots of Spring to really flourish.
Moving on to SMMT’s new heavy passenger vehicle registration figures for Q2, there were 1,826 new bus, coach and minibuses arriving on UK streets, with the market up 61.7%. It marks the fifth successive quarter of growth and the good news is that all vehicle types saw strong growth. Positively again, this growth is getting greener with zero emission vehicles uptake rising by 36.3% to 424 in the quarter, making Britain the largest zero emission bus market in Europe by volume.
This success is a joint effort that comes thanks to manufacturers delivering ever more new zero emission bus models to market, forward thinking operators that want to decarbonise, and government funding support – such as the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area scheme as well as the Bus Fare Cap Grant – which are raising operator confidence to invest. Reaching a full net zero, however, must mean that all operators can go green and SMMT’s recent report Next Stop, Net Zero: The Route To A Decarbonised UK Bus Market sets out the decarbonisation challenges the whole sector faces, particularly smaller and rural bus operators.
The King’s Speech recently included the Better Buses Bill and we eagerly await what that will include, how it can drive growth, and make the bus sector – and all the communities that depend on them – the UK’s first to decarbonise.
