- Renault gives UK debut to Master E-Tech at CV Show
- Isuzu D-Max long-term test – Latest Report
- Isuzu D-Max V-Cross Steel Edition revealed
- IVOTY Report: Stellantis explores the hydrogen proposition
- New Maxus EVs include eDeliver 5 van
- Used LCV values reach six-month high
- ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: IVECO Daily Mission Awards 2024 Q2 Round-up: Grounds Maintenance & Forestry
- Stellantis Pro One electric vans review
- Mitie adds 5,000th EV to fleet
- Record number of CVs now on UK roads, SMMT reports
Van and pick-up sales on the slide say manufacturers
Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Light commercial sales will be on a downward curve this year as recession continues to bite say leading industry executives, with most of the pain felt in the first half. The only topic up for discussion is how steep the fall will be.
“We’re predicting that there will be no recovery until 2010 and that this year’s total market will shrink by 38 per cent compared with 2008’s total,” says Tony Lewis, LCV sales and marketing director at Nissan. “We estimate that around 60 per cent of that decline will take place in the first six months. Looking at individual market segments, we reckon that total sales of pick-ups will tumble by 50 per cent over the year having fallen by 34 per cent in 2008.”
Steve Kimber, director, commercial vehicles at Ford, agrees that pick-up registrations are taking a beating. “That sector of the market is in truly dire straits,” he says. “The lifestyle element of the pick-up business has collapsed and I don’t see it returning to where it was for a very long time to come.” He reckons that total demand for light commercials will shrink by 30 per cent this year. "Registrations should start to improve a little late in the third or early in the fourth quarter however," he adds.
Simon Elliott, not long appointed director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, is not quite as pessimistic as his colleagues. He too admits, however, that things are getting tough. “We’re expecting total UK light commercial registrations to fall by between 20 per cent and 22 per cent this year,” he says. “The worst of the fall will take place in the first half,” he adds. “Sales won’t shrink quite so fast in the second and we’ll probably reach a rate of decline of no more than 10 per cent to 15 per cent in the final few months. Things won’t start to improve until 2010.”
The grim tidings have already resulted in the scrapping of the British Commercial Vehicle Show this April. Reflecting the dire outlook further afield, the international Amsterdam CV Show scheduled to be held at the RAI exhibition complex this autumn has been cancelled too.
In one respect these gloomy tidings represent good news for van operators. With dealers desperate to shift stock, there has never been a better time to buy a light commercial if you’ve got the money and the work. There are great deals to be had. So go out and haggle.
View The WhatVan Digital Edition
