Truck maker DAF strengthened its position in Europe last year taking 15.2 per cent of the market for trucks over 15 tonnes – up from 14.8 per cent last year.
Last year in the 27 countries of the European Union (plus Norway and Switzerland), around 183,000 trucks were registered in the above 15-tonne class – an increase of more than nine per cent compared with the previous year.
It reckons that industry sales in the above 15-tonne truck market in Europe will be in the range of 220,000 to 240,000 units in 2011.
DAF now takes third place in this segment – having been the smallest of the seven truck builders ten years ago.
Ray Ashworth, managing director of DAF in the UK, said: “We still face many challenges, not least the pressures on public spending and the road transport business in the UK will remain tough for some time, but we ended 2010 with much improved momentum and I believe 2011 will be a year of recovery, albeit a slow one. The lead up to Euro 6 in 2013 and the London LEZ changes in 2012 will provide some impetus to a fragile market growth.”
