New Van Sales in 2010 – The Story So Far

New Van Sales in 2010 The Story So Far

New Van Sales in 2010 The Story So Far

New van sales did not escape the harsh effects of the economic downturn with sales in 2009 approximately half that of the peak of 350,000 vans sold in 2007. With vans being a tool of the trade' and perhaps an economic barometer, where is the van market today?

Sales of light commercial vehicles up to 3.5t to 31st May 2010 are up 15.5% to 87,131 units.

So perhaps it's too early to suggest that this signals the end of the recession but possibly falls into the category of green shoots...'.

Within these sales figures there are some varied results for each van manufacturer which suggest a jostling for position to grab market share.

Ford's range of Ka van, Fiesta van, Connect and Transit maintained number one position with 26% of the market just 602 more vans than sold in the same period in 2009. It could be argued that this represents a very good sales performance for Ford and its institutional Transit brand in view of the numerous and significant price rises.

Ford's nearest market share competitor is Vauxhall with just over half the sales that Ford achieved. They too sold almost exactly the same number of Corsavan, Combo, Astravan, Vivaro and Movano in 2010 as 2009. Again Vauxhall would point out that the introduction of the new Movano and the ageing product range has not helped them in their cause.

Volkswagen and Mercedes 3rd and 4th respectively have been the most aggressive in growing their market share. The VW Caddy, new T5' Transporter and joint venture Crafter still represent the best and most aspirational vans for small businesses. Together with the Mercedes Benz Vito and unlimited mileage Sprinter, the two reliable German marques intend to seize the opportunity to increase their foothold in the UK van market place.

Citroen have had a turbulent year with a change in discount levels that had the dealers in uproar. Citroen has rather unfairly been undervalued as the cheapest vans on the market and the demise of LDV hands the mantle firmly over. However Citroen management challenged this paradigm and questioned the wisdom in discount stock in a limited supply market. Margins should therefore have improved whilst the sales figures are up 21%.

Renault was hit hard by the downturn and in particular the euro exchange rate in 2009. Just 3,688 vans were registered in the first 5 months of 2009 and Renault was overtaken by Nissan. Stock has been in very short supply but the introduction of new models whilst negatively affecting the sales in 2010 should position Renault well going forward. The Kangoo, Trafic and Master have all been updated. The Trafic has only minor cosmetic changes whereas the all new Renault Master with broader weight and size ranges should certainly give Ford some competition.

Nissan continue to free fall. The dealer network is not prominent to promote van product nor is it attentive enough to support the business user. Sales in this sector have always been poor for Nissan but the breakaway from the Renault-Nissan-Vauxhall alliance has left Nissan out in the cold. Nissan talked about an all new Nissan designed van that would replace both the Primastar and Interstar. However the Phase 3 Nissan Primastar is due to be launched alongside the Renault Trafic and Vauxhall Vivaro stable mates. The Interstar however will not adopt the new Movano and Master build. However the Interstar has now ceased production with its replacement not due until Spring 2011. This will significantly damage Nissan's profile in the fleet market.

Nissan have launched the NV200 to replace the Kangoo based Kubistar. The NV200 however is positioned at a niche segment. At 4.2m3 the Nissan NV200 is bigger than the new 3.3m3 Berlingo but smaller than the 5m3 Trafic. Add to this the fact that the NV200 has 2 front seats whereas the Berlingo and Trafic both have 3 seats, it is hard to see Nissan generating significant sales.

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