11:41 am, June 4, 2020
The lockdown continued to stifle demand in the new LCV market, causing registrations to sink by 74.1 per cent in May, according to latest SMMT figures.
The industry body said today (Jun 4) that 7,541 vehicles were delivered last month – with most of them going to fleets running food distribution, home delivery, utilities, broadband and emergency services operations.
Reflecting April’s trends, smaller commercial vehicles saw larger drops in demand, with just 741 pickups and 26 4x4s registered in May – down 80.3 per cent and 83.8 per cent respectively.
Source: SMMT
Vans weighing up to 2.0 tonnes suffered an 84.0 per cent fall, while registrations of mid-sized vans weighing 2.0-2.5 tonnes dropped by 78.7 per cent.
Registrations of vans weighing 2.5-3.5 tonnes declined by 70.4 per cent at 5,412 units.
With lockdown accounting for more than two of the first five months of the year, year-to-date performance has gone down by 49.6 per cent.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘While slightly better than April, these figures are still extremely worrying. As more businesses reopen, we are seeing a gradual uptick in fleet renewal orders.
‘However, restoring operator confidence to ensure they continue to invest in their fleets is the only way to get more of the latest, cleanest commercial vehicles on our roads.
‘This will be critical not just to the economy but to the resumption of normality for business and society which depends on this sector.’
Source: SMMT
Lockdown sees LCV registrations drop by 86 per cent in April
New car registrations down by 89 per cent for May
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