The strong growth in van sales continued in March reflecting the continued growth of the home delivery market. Registrations rose to 50,064 for the month – up 14.6 per cent on last year, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
And for the year to date, registrations are now 16 per cent up on last year at 79,917.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes highlighted the impact of the March registration plate change. “Registration plate changes always prove popular with van buyers, so March and September numbers are typically more than double the average month, a trend continued this March as volumes rose 14.6 per cent to above 50,000 units.
While the van market has been performing strongly, truck registrations continued the Euro-6 lag. Even so the monthly shortfall fell to -16.5 per cent from -27 per cent in February and -37 per cent in January. The 12 months to March remained up 23 per cent.
Hawes said the impact of Euro 6 legislation had lessened steadily since January and should be minimal by mid-year.
DAF moved back to its customary position as market leader in trucks over six tonnes for the first three months, after Renault failed to maintain the strong sales performance that catapulted it into top spot at the start of the year.
Mercedes also bounced back strongly taking market leadership for the month of March.
