Repsol YPF
Ruta
Sales of trucks soar
The truck market is witnessing good results at the moment, both in Spain as well as in the rest of Europe. In Spain sales of this type of vehicle have grown by 11% so far this year, whilst on the rest of the continent the figures for registration are 7.6% higher than last year, in the case of the lightest models, and 4.1% up for those over 16 tonnes.
This high rate of growth in sales in this sector is being boosted by strong demand and by the effects of the new norms concerning emissions - Euro 4 – which came into force last year for industrial vehicles. In spite of the volume being lower than for cars the profitability assured in this niche makes it one of the most attractive.
That is why the lead in the market for industrial vehicles is the object of battles between the big European car manufactuers that are found in this sector, such as Volvo Trucks, Daimler, Scania, MAN and Iveco. Moreover, there are constant moves and strategies that try to assure the lead in this sector, like the frustrated attempt made by Volkswagen to merge with Scania and MAN.
Furthermore, the rising economies in countries that used to be part of the Warsaw Pact are becoming gold mines for all these large companies. In Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Lithuania the registration of this type of vehicles has grown at rates over 40% in 2007.
On the other hand last October Spain experienced a notable increase in the activity in this sector; there was a general growth of around 20.8% compared to the same month in 2006. Sales of industrial vehicles exceeded 42 000 units.
19/11/2007
