Commercial vehicle figures rise in May

Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers Association which represents commercial vehicle and franchised car retailers across the UK, commenting on the SMMT’s van and truck registration figures, said: “It is positive to see demand for commercial vehicles back up again in May following last month’s -4.2% decline in the market.”

Total commercial vehicle figures released today show registrations rose 12.6% in May to 27,198, rolling year up 14.5% to 337,857. Van demand in May was up following a last month’s blip with an 18.4% growth to 24,283 registrations. Truck registrations remained low in May with volumes down -20% in the month. The rolling year remained up 21.7% fuelled by late 2013 registrations ahead of new Euro-6 legislation.

Sue continued: “Looking ahead into the second half of the year, the NFDA hope that dealers are optimistic that the van market will remain healthy, and demand for heavy trucks will increase following a slow start to the year.”