David Spear Director, Owner
After a record level of new registrations last year, the LCV market has somewhat braced itself for a decline and it appears that April has been the difficult month expected. According to the latest report on LCV registrations from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT), there has been a national decline across all van segments.
Whilst the demand and number of new registrations for pickups continues to increase, many vehicle dealers have felt the effect of the light commercial vehicle registration fall experienced in April, all except commercial vehicle specialist David Spear.
“April has been a very difficult month for new LCV registrations, and the decline is especially apparent due to the period of record demand and registrations experienced in March and throughout 2016. Easter can also have a knock-on effect on trading, and this will have only contributed to the 18.8% fall in light commercial vehicle registrations. Whilst the demand for vans remains high nationwide, overall year-to-date (YTD) registrations are down by 4.9%. Despite this, we have continued to grow thanks to our selective buying processes and high quality selection of commercial vehicles,” said Owner David Spear.
This growth comes as the wider market suffers significant declines, not comparable to the level of demand experienced at the same time last year, when April 2016 charted the highest performance on record. Small and large van segments both saw decline this April with demand for vans under 2.0 tonnes down by 37.5% and vans weighing 2.5-3.5 tonnes falling by 23.1%. The pickup market has continued to prosper however rising 4.5% in April and 17.6% YTD.
Supplying everything from mid-range panel vans and 2.0-2.5 ton vehicles to the pickups that have become highly desirable trade vehicles in recent years, David Spear’s recent acquisition of a new site in Cardiff ensures they are well-positioned to continue their record breaking year of growth. Formerly the South Wales Van Centre, the new David Spear site in Cardiff makes the most of its proximity to the Welsh capital to offer a vast choice of commercial vehicles to clients across the M4 Corridor, Wales, South West England, the Midlands and the rest of the country.
“With a clear understanding of costs, expert assistance from the David Spear team, and a transparent and trusted service from start to finish, customers feel confident making their vehicle purchase with us. As a result, we have experienced a 15% boost in year-on-year growth and a more than 20% increase in YTD sales. We are certain that we will continue with this upward trend as the market continues to rebalance,” concluded David.