In June 2018, registrations of new commercial vehicles in the EU posted the third consecutive month of growth (+7.3 per cent), with 247,000 units registered in total, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
This positive result was mainly driven by van sales, which account for almost 85 per cent of the commercial vehicle sector's demand. Growth was recorded in Spain (+9.0 per cent), Germany (+7.2 per cent) and France (+3.2 per cent), while demand fell in the Italian and UK markets (down 1.3 per cent and 7.7 per cent respectively). Noteworthy was the strong increase observed in Sweden, where commercial vehicle registrations – mainly vans and buses – almost tripled compared to June 2017.
During the first half of 2018 the EU market expanded by 4.7 per cent, counting almost 1.3 million new commercial vehicles. Spain posted the highest growth over this period (+10.9 per cent), followed by France (+5.0 per cent), Germany (+3.7 per cent) and Italy (+2.1 per cent). The UK market, on the other hand, has contracted by 3.5 per cent so far this year.
In June 2018, demand for light commercial vehicles (LCVs) up to 3.5 tonnes posted robust growth (+8.3 per cent), sustained by very positive results in the new EU member states (+14.9 per cent). In total, 209,364 new vans were registered in the EU, exceeding for the first time the June 2007 result – reached before the industry was hit by the economic crisis. Among the key EU markets, Spain (+11.4 per cent), Germany (+5.7 per cent) and France (+3.7 per cent) did well, but new LCV registrations declined in the UK (-5.8 per cent) and in Italy (-3.8 per cent).
From January to June 2018, 1,066,703 new vans were registered across the European Union, up 5.1 per cent compared to the same period one year ago. The UK (-2.3 per cent) was the only major market to post a decline, while Spain (+11.6 per cent), France (+5.0 per cent) and Germany (+5.0 per cent) have all performed well so far in 2018.
June results in the heavy truck segment (heavy commercial vehicles of 16 tonnes and over) were 2.3 per cent higher than a year ago, with 27,580 new vehicles registered. HCV sales increased in Germany (+16.3 per cent) and Italy (+11.4 per cent) but declined in the UK (-21.9 per cent), Spain (-11.6 per cent) and France (-2.1 per cent).
Six months into the year, demand for heavy trucks has remained positive across the EU, up 3.9 per cent compared to one year ago. Overall, 159,881 new vehicles have been registered so far. Italy (+16.7 per cent), France (+7.3 per cent), Spain (+5.4 per cent) and Germany (+1.6 per cent) positively contributed to the region’s growth, while demand fell in the UK (-11.6 per cent).
In June 2018, registrations for new medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) over 3.5 tonnes increased slightly in the European Union (+2.3 per cent), counting 34,196 units. The Italian (+13.4 per cent) and German (+12.9 per cent) markets posted growth last month, although registrations did fall in the UK (-19.2 per cent), Spain (-6.8 per cent) and France (-2.2 per cent).
Over the first half of the year, EU demand for new trucks went up by 3.4 per cent, counting 195,191 units. Italy (+14.5 per cent), Spain (+6.2 per cent) and France (+5.8 per cent) all performed very well. On the contrary, the UK (-9.8 per cent) saw its registrations decline compared with the first semester of 2017.