Renault Trucks says its three-year plan to double its UK market share is still on course, despite no improvement in registrations during 2007. Speaking to the press last week, Renault's UK MD Laurent Farman, said: "This year we will keep our market share at 4.5%, but our order books are bursting and 2008 looks good." He explains that October was a record month for the company in the UK, with orders taken for 1,000 vehicles.
He is confident this recent success will continue and its share
of the market can grow to between 6% and 6.5% in 2008, and hit 9% by the end of 2009. Farman says the growth has partly been achieved by investment in the UK dealer network. He explains that 2007 saw Renault Trucks open new sites, and invest heavily to improve the overall quality of the network. It will invest another £10m in its network during 2008.
But not to be overlooked is the part that lead times will play in its future growth. Although European lead times look set to worsen during 2008, he says the situation should improve in the UK. "We have stepped up production from 180 trucks a day in 2006 to 300 trucks a day today. Next year we will have more trucks allocated to the UK. We have the orders, and almost all the trucks we need."
The current wait for a new Premium is about one year.
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