New light commercial vehicle figures released yesterday show overall sales were up 7.6% at the year’s halfway point, with June volumes rising 4.5%.
Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers Association, said: ‘January to June van registrations were 11.2% ahead of 2012, boosted by an impressive 3.4% rise in the month. Mid size vans 2 – 3.5 tonnes were also up 11.1% from 2012.
‘Truck demand was 10.4% behind 2012 for the first quarter of the year, however, an 11.7% rise in June could be the first signs of 2013 demand rebalancing in the second half of the year.
‘Looking ahead into the second half of the year, dealers are optimistic that the van market will remain healthy with a return to a more normal replacement cycle sustaining the market. For heavy trucks, we expect to see improvement in recovery as buyers pick from late Euro 5 or new Euro 6 models ahead of new Euro-standard legislation hitting from 2014.'
