The German commercial vehicle market saw a rise in new trailer registrations by three per cent to 369,100 units, according the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).
The large-volume van segment continued its growth and expanded for the fourth time in succession. Sales of light commercial vehicles up to 6 tonnes rose by over four percent in 2017 to reach 276.100 units – also a new record. In 2018, the volume of the segment may well exceed even this result. The VDA expects a rise of two per cent.
“2017 was a good year for the German commercial vehicle market,” said VDA President, Matthias Wissmann.
“On the one hand, the healthy state of the general economy boosted the demand for commercial vehicles. On the other, booming online business is driving sales of light commercial vehicles from one record to the next,” he said.
In 2017, sales of trailers broke through the 300,000 mark for the first time. New registrations increased by more than four per cent, totaling 306,900 trailers. Within this group, growth was especially dynamic in the demand for semi-trailers, which added 6 per cent and climbed to 36,400 units.