Third quarter fall for heavy truck sales

The decline was in comparison with Q3 last year, when uptake surged above pre-pandemic levels to fulfil pent-up demand. Demand in Q3 2024 remained robust, at 26.7% above the same quarter in 2019.

Between July and September, 10,839 new HGVs joined fleets across the country, with growth recorded in rigids, rising 6.0% to reach 6,668 units to achieve a 61.5% market share. Conversely, artic volumes continued to decline, down 20.4% to 4,171 units.

Of the top five body types, box vans were the only one to see volumes increase, up by 23.9%. Tractor units, curtainsiders, tippers and refuse vehicles all recorded declines, down 21.0%, 5.0%, 11.8% and 6.0% respectively. As a result, the overall market year-to-date is down slightly, by 2.5%, but this is compared with last year’s flourishing market that grew 16.4% in the first nine months.

While the UK remains Europe’s second largest zero-emission truck market by volume, uptake almost halved during Q3, down 47.5% to achieve a market share of 0.5%, down from 0.8% in Q3 last year. Operators continue to face significant barriers which prevent them from having the confidence to invest in ZEVs at a larger scale. Dedicated HGV public chargepoint provision remains severely limited, while uptake from an ever-increasing choice of ZEV trucks is also stymied by a grant system that involves a lengthy application process and covers less than half of all available models.

Year-to-date, the ZEV share of the HGV market remains unchanged from last year at 0.5% of the market – yet the end of sale date for non-ZEVs under 26 tonnes is the same as that currently for cars, where market share is almost 40 times higher (18.1%). A national infrastructure plan and reform to the grant, would help boost operator confidence and stimulate greater uptake – vital for fleet renewal and reducing road transport emissions today.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “After last year’s surge in truck demand, one quarter of decline is not a cause for serious concern. Falling zero emission truck uptake, however, is another matter, showing the market is struggling to keep up with ambition. Reforming the Plug-in Truck Grant and more rapidly rolling out infrastructure would help encourage more operators to switch to zero emission vehicles sooner, instead of delaying their transition and decarbonisation.”

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