In the latest figures from BIL Sweden, light commercial vehicle sales reached 2,592 units in February, amounting to a drop of nearly 8% on February 2021 when 2,814 vehicles were registered. So far, the year-to-date LCV sales are lagging behind in comparison to the first two months of 2021.
Need to Renew Fleets Still an Actuality, Although Market Uncertainty Affecting Consumer Confidence
Acknowledging that the market is primed to start renewing fleets, Mattias Bergman, CEO of BIL Sweden, explains, “There is a pent-up need among companies to renew their fleet. At the same time, the lack of semiconductors and other components that affect production and deliveries has not been able to meet demand since the turn of the year last year.”
Of the figures, 11.6% of those purchases, or 300 units, were for electric trucks, indicating a growing demand for electrification. However, Mattias adds, “The proposed tightening of the Bonus Malus system during the year, if implemented, will once again hit light trucks particularly hard, where the transition to electrification has not come as far.”
For trucks over 16 tonnes, there were 356 registrations in February, amounting to a year-on-year decrease of 23%, when 465 units were registered in February 2021. For the two months combined, the 645 registrations for January and February amounts to a 24% decline, with components and production disruptions having a knock-on effect on the market.
Buses also saw a drop of 31% in February, with only 24 buses registered, against 35 in February 2021. So far this year, 84 buses have been registered, which makes for a 39% decrease. Like with fleets, each region has the option of choosing when to procure new buses, which can partly account for the current decline in bus sales.
