Research and Markets: Commercial Vehicles.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- It is Estimated That the Apparent Market for Commercial Vehicles in The UK Was Worth GBP 3.13bn in 2003

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com) has announced the addition of Commercial Vehicles to their offering.

This report analyses the commercial vehicles industry in the UK and covers the following areas:

-- Executive Summary

-- Contents

-- Market Definition

-- Market Size

-- Industry Background

-- Competitor Analysis 

-- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

-- Buying Behaviour

-- Current Issues

-- The Global Market

-- Forecasts

-- Company Profiles

-- Further Sources

The market for commercial vehicles forms part of the UK's vehicle manufacturing industry and is a key component of the UK's manufacturing base. It is estimated that the apparent market for commercial vehicles in the UK was worth GBP 3.13bn in 2003. The industry showed strong growth between 2002 and 2003, increasing in value by an estimated 19.3%.

The market is segmented into three distinct sectors: light commercial vehicles (LCVs), heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), and buses and coaches. The LCV and HGV sectors exhibited positive growth over the 1999 to 2003 review period and benefited from the strong UK economy, while the buses and coaches sector is struggling against a decline.

The sustained period of economic growth and stability experienced by the UK in recent years has been the major factor influencing increased demand for commercial goods vehicles since the late 1990s. Environmental legislation, reforms to the vehicle taxation regime and the introduction of energy taxation via the Climate Change Levy (CCL) have combined to shape the market throughout the early years of the 21st century.

Increased demand for LCVs since the beginning of the decade has been attributed to general growth in the UK economy and to increased demand for home deliveries, as more people shop on the Internet. Demand for HGVs has also risen during the early 2000s, reflecting the increasing requirement for road transport services. This has enabled the larger logistics firms to upgrade their HGV fleets with more environmentally efficient vehicles and thereby benefit from changes to vehicle excise duty. The performance of the buses and coaches sector has been less favourable over the review period, reflecting a downward global trend in demand for these vehicles. In addition, UK manufacturers have been experiencing intense competition from manufacturers overseas, which tend to have lower costs.

The outlook for the commercial vehicles market to 2008 is favourable. The industry is expected to benefit from predicted stable growth in the UK economy. During the next 5 years and beyond, environmental and associated political pressures will increasingly shape the market and influence developments, as demand for environmentally sustainable commercial transport for goods and passengers continues.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c4584