The introduction of Euro 6 has seen the amount of truck registrations plummet.

This is according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which has released its commercial vehicle news release for January. Statistics show that 1,817 heavy vehicles were registered last month, a drop of 37 per cent on the previous year.

It was better news for vans however, with strong business confidence seeing the number of registrations increase by 12.9 per cent on January 2013. The commercial vehicle sector overall grew 19.939 units, up 5.3 per cent on the year before.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive commented that the truck market was expected to undergo some difficulty for the next few months. He added: "Looking ahead, SMMT is confident that van registrations will continue to go at a sustainable rate, while truck demand should level out over the full year."

Euro 6 is a European legislation concerning diesel emissions. It regulates the amount of pollutants coming out of the tail-pipe of an engine.