The market for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks, considered in a global context, has retrenched since 2001. In Europe, actual demand for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks was stronger in 2002 than had been predicted. As the predictions had been lowered approximately 25 percent from pre-2001 estimates, however, this better than expected performance was not as positive as it appeared to be on the surface.
While global and regional economic performance, the potential for terrorist attacks, and the uncertainty of fuel supplies all affect the demand for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks, another important effect on the demand for these trucks is the ability of potential buyers to obtain timely financing that meets their specific needs and which is available at affordable costs. A variety of customer financing programs exist for application in the medium-duty and heavy-duty truck market. Not all manufacturers and distributors of these trucks offer such financing programs, however, and comparable programs offered by many financial service companies frequently do not meet the specific needs of the buyers of these trucks or the qualifying requirements for such programs make them inaccessible to many potential buyers.
Creative financial programs and innovations in financing for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks have the potential to stimulate sales in the industry. A research study is proposed to investigate the effects of creative financing and innovations in financing on sales in the medium-duty and heavy-duty truck market in Western Europe.
The European Union (EU) has established an integrated market for goods. This market, to function efficiently and effectively, requires a modern and efficient freight transportation system that includes a strong road transportation component. While some very large road freight-hauling companies function within the EU, many more road freight-hauling companies are much smaller. Further, an ...