New commercial vehicles sales figures reveal that the van market is buoyant with growth of 15.1% in August 2010, compared to August 2009.

Van sales for the year are up 16.9% on last year, with the heavy van sector (3–3.5t) seeing the greatest increase in sales - up 25.3% in August and by 17.7%for the year compared to 2009.

Sue Robinson, RMI franchised director, said, “The improvement we are seeing in van sales month on month may be attributed in part to the relatively low uptake of the scrappage scheme last year meaning that figures from August 2009 are not distorted as they are in other vehicle sectors.

“Also, growth in internet sales that necessitate deliveries, opposed to the use of the postal service, may be to thank for continued sector growth”.

The truck market however, is still suffering, with slow growth of just 5.7% in August, and is down 11.3% on the year to date compared to 2009. The fall in sales is due, says Robinson, to “uncertainty in the economy and difficulty in arranging bank loans to invest in new units, this, combined with concerns of public sector cuts affecting business, means there is not currently a huge appetite to commit to the purchase of new heavy trucks”.