Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Van sales up 23 per cent in August
The recovery of new sales in the van and truck sectors continued in August with both van and truck registrations increasing significantly year-on-year, according to SMMT figures.
Sales of vans for the month increased by 22.8 per cent in August to 10,640 units. This pushed year-to-date volumes up by 20.9 per cent to 161,040 units.
Sales in the truck sector (over 6 tonnes) grew 23 per cent to 2,411 units to 24,822 units. Year-to-date sales are up 25.4 per cent to 24,822.
“August saw the strong and sustained bounce-back continue across much of the van and truck industry as operators returned to more typical replacement schedules,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.
“With the [combined] commercial vehicle market up by over 20 per cent for the year-to-date, industry is optimistic, but short to medium term economic uncertainty is likely to temper the rate of future growth.”
August is typically a below average month for the commercial sector accounting for less than 5 per cent of annual van sales and 6.5 per cent of truck sales.
UK van and truck registrations August 2011 (Source: SMMT)
| August | % change | Year-to-date | % change | |
| Vans | 10,640 | 22.8% | 161,040 | 20.9% |
| Trucks | 2,411 | 23.0% | 24,822 | 25.4% |
| Total | 13,051 | 22.8% | 185,862 | 21.5% |
