UK truck market remains strong as demand grows in 2016

·        HGV registrations increase in 2016, up 5.3% to 46,231 units.

·        Demand for rigid vehicles drives growth, up 17.0% compared with 2015.

·        2016 ends on a positive, with steady 2.3% rise in Q4.

Registrations of new heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) rose 5.3% to 46,231 units in 2016, according to figures released by SMMT, marking the sector’s third consecutive year of growth. The year ended on a positive note, with 13,555 new HGVs registered in Q4 – a 2.3% improvement on the same period in 2015.

Rigid vehicles continued to fuel the market throughout 2016, with both the >6-16T and >16T segments experiencing double-digit growth – up 21.6% and 14.5% respectively. The artics segment, meanwhile, ended the year down by -7.5%, but in the fourth quarter bucked the downward trend set earlier in the year, rising by 0.7% as an uplift in demand for 3+ axle artics compensated for a decline in 2 axle vehicles