Dealers think supply problems will continue into 2023

Faconauto points out market will only grow 1% this year but will confirm it has returned to pre-pandemic numbers

The industrial vehicle distribution and repair sector hopes that 2023 will confirm the market’s recovery, after registrations outperformed last year and almost returned to pre-pandemic levels. Faconauto stated this during a meeting with the press in which his executive vice president,
Marta Blazquez and Pilar Fernandezpresident of the industrial vehicles division, which unites 100 dealers and employs 6,500 people.

Faconauto also believes that “supply problems will persist” in this financial year, adding to a ”
uncertain economic situationled by the increase in rates or prices.

According to the organization, the industrial vehicle distribution and repair sector hopes that 2023 will confirm the market’s recovery, after last year’s registrations behaved “better than expected” and almost returned to the previous level of the pandemic.

“Last year has been positive for the sector because the dealers, despite not being able to meet all demand, closed 2022 with
sufficient yield. If we had more units at our disposal, the results would have been much better for the networks,” said Pilar Fernández, president of Faconauto’s industrial vehicles division.

However, in a context of lack of ‘stock’ due to the semiconductor crisis, the organization has “missed more balance” in the distribution of trucks by the brands, which in their opinion have become “too inclined to direct sales to the major national fleets” “This worries us,” Fernández added.

The dealers have already booked all available copies for this year and the delivery times are still about a year.
This low inventory turnover rate It also impacts the used vehicle market, whose transfers fell 5% last year compared to 2021, to 50,756 units. This decrease is mainly due to the fact that models up to three years old have fallen sharply (-18.2%) due to the aforementioned lack of units. This year, used vehicle transfers remain at the same level as in 2022, with about 51,000 units (+1%), of which almost 50% are vehicles older than eight years.

In this sense,
Faconauto has expressed concern due to the aging of the industrial vehicle fleet. Of the 496,000 trucks in circulation, 58% are older than ten years. For example, the average age of our trucks is 13.5 years.

Faconauto has indicated that with regard to the electrification process
last year almost no progress was made because the market was faced with the same problems, mainly a technology that is not mature and a sparse development of the charging point infrastructure. According to him, the arrival of Euro VII, in line with that of other European organizations in the sector such as ACEA, will mean that manufacturers withdraw resources for the development of electric technology, when the internal combustion engine has already been “condemned” in his view. .

“Euro VII is important
obstacles for manufacturers and the industry continue their rapid evolution towards zero emissions, i.e. towards the electric vehicle. To comply with Euro VII, truck manufacturers would be forced to shift significant financial and technical resources from electric vehicles to the internal combustion engine. Not only would it delay its electromobility roadmap, but it could reverse it,” said Faconauto’s executive vice president, Marta Blázquez.

Source: La Verdad

Mary

I am Mary Fitzgerald, a professional journalist and author of the Today Times Live. My specialty is in writing and reporting on technology-related topics. I have spent the last seven years extensively researching and understanding the field of technology so I can properly inform my readers about developments in this ever-evolving world.