Putting to one side the temporary Euro-6 downturn in the truck market, the latest registration numbers for new commercial vehicles paint quite a rosy picture for our industry. Notching up the seventh consecutive month of double-digit growth, the LCV market is running at a level of more than 275,000 on a rolling annual basis. This sort of demand hasn’t been seen since 2008 and the outlook is positive with major new models set to launch this year – several making their debut at the CV Show.

While the numbers may be looking decent, let’s not forget the, often unsung, heroes of our industry that toil in the background ensuring our products are well engineered, technically correct and meet every angle of complex legislation. In support of its members, SMMT has a number of technical committees that discuss and disseminate information on a whole range of legislative and technical matters. From vehicle masses and dimensions, through their emissions to the omnipresent hot topic of type approval, these groups input to vital legislative discussions and ensure that industry is up to speed on issues large and small.

This month, the chair of our Trailer and Bodywork Group stepped down after a long and worthy stint. Many thanks to Derek Skinner of Schmitz UK for all his hard work and a warm welcome to Lionel Curtis, who has taken on the role. Lionel has had a long career in the industry and now heads up the engineering team for trailer and bodywork manufacturer Gray and Adams.

Nigel Base, SMMT Commercial Vehicle Manager