Demand for HGVs has increased by a further 15% in Q3, with more than 11,500 vehicles added to the UK fleet, which represents the UK’s sixth consecutive quarter of growth and the largest number of new HGV deliveries in any quarter since the end of 2019, according to figures from the SMMT.
It also stated that the uptake of hydrogen-powered or electric vehicles continues to rise, now representing 0.8% of the market, the largest quarterly share this year, compared with 0.3% and 0.4% in Q1 and Q2.
Rigid | 6,293 (13.9%) |
Articulated Tractors | 5,238 (16.1%) |
The most popular truck body continues to be tractors, typically used for the largest delivery trucks, up 16.4% and representing 44.5% of the market.
There was also a rise in demand for box vans with registrations up 11.8%, while uptake of curtain-sided trucks and refuse vehicles increased by 62.5% and 16.6% respectively.
Tipper registrations declined, however, down 9.7% compared with a strong third quarter in 2022.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said,
Britain’s sixth quarter of rising HGV rollout and increasing uptake of zero emission trucks this year underlines the sector’s strong position, with operators in all UK regions getting the latest fuel-efficient and very greenest models.
The rate of zero emission truck uptake must increase, however, both drastically and soon – amid significant obstacles to the sector’s transition. With just one public HGV chargepoint in the UK, a national plan for public and depot infrastructure is urgently needed to make fleet decarbonisation a reality for all operators, now and in the long term.