Euro 4 truck orders show sharp decline

Industry insiders say downturn is due to operators' resistance to digital tachographs.

Resistance to digital tachographs, coupled with the price rise for Euro 4 compliance, has seen forward orders on trucks for post-1 October deliveries nose-dive.

Simon Chapman, chief economist with the Freight Transport Association, said the introduction of digital tachographs and the impending Euro 4 deadline have caused massive distortions in the registration figures. "After the digitach deadline, registrations fell by 40%-50% and have recovered to some degree as operators rush to meet the 1 October deadline," he said.

In common with other manufacturers, Iveco has seen a dramatic fall in orders for Euro 4 deliveries, which communications director Nigel Emms believes is due to operators resisting the switch to digital tachographs.

Les Bishop, product marketing manager at MAN, highlighted the reluctance of hire fleets to take vehicles with digital tachographs as it can be difficult to place such vehicles in an all-analogue fleets.

Chapman agreed with the sentiment, saying many truck operators want to put off introducing digital tachographs for a year or so as integrating digital and analogue data adds a layer of complexity. Larger fleets can make the switch depot-by-depot, he said.

Mercedes-Benz's press manager Ian Norwell said the digitachs and Euro 4 were separate issues, but added that many operators pulled orders forward to avoid having a digital tachograph, and as there is no incentive for operators to opt for Euro 4, even more orders have been pulled forward.

"These people will eventually come back into the market - what we don't know is how long it will take," he said.

[Contract Journal, 20 September 2006, p 12]