ANNUAL sales of light commercial vehicles up to 3.5-tonnes gross vehicle weight just missed the record 2004 total last year. They fell to 322,930, a drop of 2% compared to last year.

However, Christopher Macgowan, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, was far from unhappy with the result. He said: ‘The total is still one of the highest for many years and increasing domestic and Eurozone business confidence suggests that 2006 will be another good year for the industry.’

The end of year figures show light vans down 5%, medium vans up 5.1% and heavy vans down 1%.

Ford led the field with total sales of 87,042, although its sales slumped by 8%. Volkswagen headed the list of winners with a rise of 10.11% to 20,385, while Vauxhall took second position with 52,481 sales, a rise of 8.15%. LDV sales were up 0.8% at 8,387, while Nissan rose by 9.4% to 15,372.

Among the losers were Mercedes-Benz (down 9.92% to 22,257), Citroen (down 4.4% at 22,456) and Toyota (down 21.7% at 5,454).

Marque 2005		%				2004		%		% change
Ford		87,042		26.95		94,671		28.72		-8.06
Vauxhall		52,481		16.25		48,528		14.72		8.15
Citroen		22,456		6.95		23,494		7.13		-4.42
Volkswagen		22,445		6.95		20,385		6.18		10.11
Mercedes		22,257		6.89		24,708		7.50		-9.92
Renault		21,322		6.60		21,687		6.58		-1.68
Peugeot		16,967		5.25		15,649		4.75		8.42
Nissan		15,372		4.76		14,051		4.26		9.40
Mitsubishi		12,747		3.95		12,985		3.94		-1.83
Fiat		12,417		3.85		12,415		3.77		0.02
LDV		8,387		2.60		8,314		2.52		0.88
Iveco		7,649		2.37		7,335		2.23		4.28
Toyota		5,454		1.69		6,968		2.11		-21.73
Land Rover		4,588		1.42		5,747		1.74		-20.17
Suzuki		2,963		0.92		3,514		1.07		-15.68
Isuzu		2,389		0.74		2,345		0.71		1.88
Mazda		1,094		0.34		714		0.22		53.22
Daihatsu		501		0.16		497		0.15		0.80
Proton		354		0.11		614		0.19		-42.35
Tata		123		0.04		232		0.07		-46.98