Overall, truck and van registrations were up 20.1%, compared to the same period last year, to 65,453 units. Trucks led the way in September, with a gain of 24.8%, while vans posted a healthy 19.6% rise.
To date 321,302 commercial vehicles have been registered this year – an increase of 19.2% for the first nine months of last year.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes beli=eves September registrations were buoyed by the appearance of the new 65-plate.
“Particularly encouraging is the consistent growth seen this year in the traditionally more volatile truck sector, while the van market – boosted by robust business confidence and the ongoing trend towards online deliveries – shows no sign of slowing,” he says.
Diving down into the detail, in the tractor market, three-axle units unsurprisingly drove the growth at 42.4% September 2015 to September 2014, while two-axle artics declined by -27.1%. Year to date figures show six wheel tractors up 54.8% compared to 2914.
Meanwhile, the fastest growing rigid category is the in the 3.5—6 tonnes range, posting 67.9% for September, with rigids over 16 tonnes coming in at 21.1% – backing the theory that online deliveries are fuelling the market, but also demonstrating a healthy return in the heavy sector.
As for vans, those in the 2.5—3.5 tonne band fared bes, witnessing 24.3% growth in September, compared to the same month in 2014.
Moving over to the bus and coach industry, SMMT’s latest figures reveal that converted buses led registrations in September – up 103.4% year-on-year and helping to drive an overall increase in registrations for the sector to 43.9%, compared to 2014, and a total of 1,134 buses and coaches.
Purpose-built coaches saw a 25.8% boost in registrations and overall, the bus and coach market continued its growth trend with year-to-date registrations reaching 6,930 – an increase of 1,306 on last year.
“September marked the fifth consecutive month of growth for the new bus and coach market,” comments Hawes.
“While the purpose-built coach market benefited from the September plate change, converted bus figures also experienced a substantial boost in the heavier 3.5—8.5 tonne segment, more than doubling 2014’s figure,” he observes.