New commercial vehicle registrations in Europe continued the downward trend which prevailed throughout 2012, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). In December, a total of 125,825 units were registered in the Eurozone.
As a result, demand reached its lowest level since October 2009, at -23.4 per cent, with downturns in major markets ranging from -15.5 per cent in the UK to -34.2 per cent in Spain.
From January to December, a total of 1,695,173 new commercial vehicles were registered in the EU, or 12.4 per cent less than in 2011. The UK (-5.7 per cent) and Germany (-7.0 per cent) performed somewhat similarly, while the French market shrank by 10.3 per cent, and the Spanish (-25.9 per cent) and Italian (-31.7 per cent) faced a more severe downturn.