New-vehicle Registrations Still Under a Cloud
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General Unsettled State of Affairs Continues to Affect Registration Returns, Those for February Being Lower, Once Again, in Both Goods and Hackney Vehicle Sections
OUR issue for last week contained a brief reference to the fact that the number of new commercial vehicles registered in February last showed a falling off in both goods and hackney sections. when compared with the totals for February of the previous year. Actually, the number of goods vehicles was 4,617, contrasted with 5,238, whilst the figure for hackneys at 430, has to be set against 513 for the previous year. Although these two classes staged a decline, the registrations for all types advanced in the year from 30,332 to 33,907.
2-21-tonners Prominent.
As is always the case, the reduction in the number of petrol vehicles accounted for the lower returns in February last. In this section, 4,339 vehicles were registered, contrasted with 4,912 in February, 1938, the only category to exceed the 1,000 mark being the 2-21-tonner, with 1,372 registrations, but even in this division the total Was down on the figure (1,551) for the comparable month of the previous year.
Next in order of numerical strength in this section came the vehicles between 12 cwt. and 1 ton, with 953 registrations. In fact, up to vehicles of 4 tons unladen weight, this was the only class to show a rise on last year's total (650). In other sections up to the 5-ton limit, the following numbers of vehicles were licensed, last year's figures being given in parentheses:— Not exceeding 12 cwt., 767 (1,151); 1-1i-ton, 423 (524); 11-2-ton, 596 (713); 4-3-ton .145 (206); 3-4-ton, 54 (85); 4-5-ton, 22 (21). Above this limit only seven vehicles were licensed in February last.
The goods oiler also followed the prevailing tendency, and the 131 registrations in this category compared with 158 for February, 1938. The highest total was recorded by the 3-4-tonner, with 34 vehicles, being followed closely by the 4-5-tonner.
One of the few bright spots of the returns for February was in respect of the registration. of electric vehicles, in which division 77 machines were licensed, compared with 63 in February, 1938. In this section, the princiPal registrations took place in the two classes covered by the outside limits of 12 cwt. and 2 tons.
Goods vehicles licensed for drawing trailers totalled 10.
In the case of multi-wheelers, which are divided into four distinct categories, an increase was shown only in respect of rigid six-wheelers, which advanced from 46 to 50 vehicles. The fivewheeler (mechanical-horse pattern) staged the biggest fall, from 60 to 14 vehicles, whilst the articulated type fell from 47 to 35 registrations. In respect of eight-wheelers, there were 15 vehicles licensed, contrasted with 29 in February last year.
The total for agricultural vans and lorries was 66 vehicles, compared with 98 in the corresponding month of last year, whilst, under the heading of agricultural engines (5s. class) 613 ploughing machines, etc., were licensed, contrasted with 607 in February, 1938. So far as tractors are concerned, 14 for agricultural uses and 16 for general haulage were licensed, the aggregate being four down on the previous year's figure.
Most of the vehicles in the exempt classes were Government-owned, there being I,411 such machines out of a total of 1,535, last year's comparable figures being 1,914 and 2,002 respectively.
All Hackney Vehicles Fall.
So far as hackneys are concerned, the most striking feature of the returns is the fact that only one trolleybus was registered, whereas 31 similar machines were licensed in February, 1938. In the petrol hackney division, the fall was from 227 to 202 machines, and in the category for oilers, the drop was from 255 to 227. In respect of oilers, most of the hackneys (155) were 48-56seaters.
In the two months ended February, 11,155 goods vehicles and 937 hackney vehicles were licensed, last year's corresponding returns being 12,494 and 1,046 respectively.