Despite the drop in overall van sales there were some winners with Mercedes-Benz on the up as well as Maxus, writes John Kendall, who also puts a diesel and then an electric Fiat van around the city in a ‘stress’ test.
FOR ANYONE hoping for a rapid return to normal trading, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) light CV registration data for September did not carry much cheer. Registrations compared with September 2020 were down on average by 39.5% to 31,535, with few manufacturers having a good month.
Among the top 10 brands, Mercedes-Benz, Renault and Toyota registered more vehicles. Maxus logged an 806% increase with registrations reaching 336 compared with 35 in September 2020.
The stats total for the year to date is more encouraging with registrations at the end of Q3 having reached 267,236, an increase of 28.4% compared with the same period in 2020. Ford has retained its grip on the market with 91,151 registrations, up 33.9% on the same period in 2020, with 34.1% of the LCV market.
