April’s truck sales turnout, the first and only single-digit dive so far this year, provides the first hint for more than a year that the very worst of the deeply entrenched truck sales famine may finally be over. Better still, despite the progressive sales deterioration seen of late, echoed by an accelerating rate of decline for five successive quarters, the truck industry believes that a hard landing will be averted at the eleventh hour

That at least is the upbeat view of some senior truck industry insiders who told AID that an otherwise certain hard landing will be averted thanks to an “extensive pre-buying binge for cheaper Euro 5 trucks this autumn”, sparked by the obligatory need to purchase from January next year pricier Euro 6 trucks.

Europe’s car manufacturers, their supplier and importers no less, may be suffering as West Europe’s deeply recessionary car market is this year heading for the lowest annual sales for close on three decades. 

But spare a thought for the region’s truck makers. 

Their predicament has worsened since the start of last year.

The rate of decline in sales has now progressively deteriorated for five successive quarters in a row...more