According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), demand for new commercial vehicle in the Eurozone was slightly up in July, while August saw a 4.4 per cent downturn in the whole region.
Reportedly, the 2.8 per cent rise in July is mainly due to a calendar effect, as the month counted on average one more working day across the EU compared to July 2012.
France (+3.2 per cent), Germany (+4.0 per cent) and Spain (+25.8 per cent) contributed positively to the overall upturn, while the UK market slipped by 0.9 per cent, and the Italian shrank by 13.3 per cent.
In August, Spain (+10.3 per cent) and the UK (+15.3 per cent) performed better than in the same month last year, but negative results in France (-5.4 per cent), Germany (-8.5 per cent) and Italy (-19.5 per cent) led to a 4.4 per cent downturn in the whole region.
From January to August, new commercial vehicle registrations decreased by 5.5 per cent in the EU, compared to the same period a year earlier. The UK was the only market to post growth (+6.7 per cent), while Spain (-0.5 per cent), France (-7.6 per cent), Germany (-8.2 per cent) and Italy (-18.5 per cent) all saw their market contract.