Regos slow in October

Fourth quarter registrations of new commercial vehicles got off to a slow start in October

The latest Truck Industry Council T-MARK figures revealed a drop in registrations of new commercial vehicles of 6.7 per cent in October versus the same month last year, with a total of 2692 vehicles registered last month.

Year to date a total of 26,080 trucks and vans have been registered to the end of October to deliver year-on-year growth of 3.5%, but strip away vans and that growth drops back to just 0.8% for the truck market.

Overall, Isuzu leads the market with 6041 units year to date, from Hino (3713), Fuso (2682), Kenworth (1704) and Volvo (1185).

Heavy-duty trucks took another major hit, the 862 vehicles registered in October signifying a drop of 9.1% over October 2014's tally, while the 8083 examples registered year to date equate with a fall of 7.2%.

In heavy-duty Kenworth leads with 1704 units, ahead of Volvo (1181), Isuzu (990), Mack (730) and Scania (513).

The 580 medium-duty trucks registered in October were down 8.9% on the same month last year, while the 5461 trucks registered year to date is up 0.8%.

Isuzu leads the medium-segment with 2237 units, from Hino (1663), Fuso (851), UD Trucks (450) and Iveco (96).

The buoyant light-duty truck segment also slowed, the 878 trucks registered last month delivering growth of 0.7% over October 2014, while the year-to-date figure (7991) shows growth of 10.3%.

Isuzu also dominates the light-duty segment with 2814 units year to date, ahead of Hino (1778), Fuso (1548), Iveco (525) and Mercedes-Benz (470).

Even the hard-charging light-duty van market slowed in October. The 372 registrations represents a contraction of 12.9% over the same month last year, while the year-to-date figure – 4545 units – is still up an impressive 18.9%.

In vans Mercedes-Benz dominates the year-to-date figures with a tally of 1981 units, from Renault (1047), Ford (570), Fiat (514) and Volkswagen (291).

"We have seen yet again another disappointing new truck sales month and a concerning start to quarter four 2015," said Tony McMullan, CEO of Truck Industry Council.

"All heavy vehicle segments were down in October compared with the previous month and most were down when viewed against the monthly sales results of October 2014.

"October and November are traditionally strong months for truck sales as companies gear their fleets up for the Christmas delivery rush. This October we have not seen strong pre-Christmas truck sales; we will now have to wait to see if this turns around in November.

"Perhaps the flat October sales are an indicator that fleets are not forecasting the usual surge in freight movements leading up to the festive season and this may be an early indicator of relatively poor retail sales this Christmas."

Regos slow in October

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