The bad news for the auto sector is that sales of HGVs were bad last year. The good news is that it was not as bad as expected.
Sales were down 12.5 percent over 2000 with 6,019 lorries over six tons being sold.
The situation is clearly not as bad as it is with cars where sales fell by 32 percent. This could mean that the economic slowdown is effecting companies less than private individuals who have slashed their spending.
Volvo emerged as the winner in the heaviest class, increasing sales of vehicles over 16 tons by more than ten percent to 805.