Trucks pull out of slump
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by Brian Weatherley • After three years of recession the market for trucks and artics above 3.5 tonnes has begun to grow again.
Last year registrations rose by nearly 16% to 36,358 vehicles. But the recovery is still patchy. While the market above 15 tonnes enjoyed a 27% jump, below 15 tonnes (which includes the usually high-volume 7.5tonne sector) it grew by less than 4%.
For Renault 1993 proved to be the classic "good in parts-bad in others". Its registrations above 15-tonnes went up by 26% helped by sales of its Maxter 8x4. But below 15tonnes (where more of its 1993 registrations were) they droppad. Overall its sales fell for the third year running.
The collapse of Daf and the receivershipof Leyland Daf inevitably hit the British company. Total registrations fell by 18% with major reductions at 7.5 and above 15 tonnes. Against that was a positive response to its new 75/85 Series.
Leyland Daf Trucks' boss David Gill says its overall 1993 18.1% market share is "in line with our expectations-if not the competition's!" Which leads us to Iveco Ford...
IFT consolidated its market leadership with 22.6% of all registrations above 3.5 tonnes; overall the Iveco Group (comprising Iveco Ford and Seddon Atkinson) increased its volumes by more than 22%.
Iveco Ford tightened its grip on the 15-tonne-plus market in '93 but the most impressive gains were at the heavy end. The ratio of tractor sales between Seddon Atkinson and Iveco Ford used to be 70:30: now it's the other way round thanks to the arrival of the EuroTech.
Last year the Iveco Group jumped from sixth to third place in the tractor market and IFT chief executive Alan Fox says: "We plan to grow our penetration in the heavy truck market." Third-place Mercedes-Benz saw major increases in both volume and market share across the board with especially strong sales of its Ti van and 814 and 1820 middleweights. Mercedes describes its performance in the 3.5 and 7.4-tonneplus sectors of the market as "spectacular".
MercedesBenz (UK)'s commercial vehicle director David Thomas says it's "determined to build on this platform and stay with the philosophy of steady progress".
The return of big own-account fleet buyers helped Mercedes in the tractor market. And there were also major gains for Scania, underpinning its decision to move away from its recession-hit traditional haulage customers, as well as ERF, MAN and Volvo which took top spot in the tractor market over all and captured most registrations above 15 tonnes in 1993.
Foden fell back slightly on tractors but surged forward in the four-axle tipper sector. While 8x4 sales are still depressed the market is returning (see table above).
Will the truck market increase in 1994? Iveco Ford's Fox is prepared for "anything between 40,000 and 46,000 units". That view is echoed by Leyland Dal's Gill, with a projection of "40-43,000 vehicles above 3.5 tonnes".
Either way, it's going up.