The EU market for commercial vehicles grew by 6.2 per cent in January 2019, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
Compared to January last year, total registrations increased from 188,102 to 199,853 units, marking the highest January volume on record.
Growth was reportedly sustained across all commercial vehicle segments and in all key EU markets except Italy (-1.3 per cent). Germany (+18.8 per cent) recorded the highest gains last month, followed by the UK (+9.7 per cent), France (+8.4 per cent) and Spain (+8.3 per cent).
During the first month of 2019 for new light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5-tonnes across the EU, registrations increased by 6.1 per cent. Vans made up almost 82 per cent of all commercial vehicles registered last month, thereby making a significant contribution to overall growth. Among the major EU markets, Germany (+13.2 per cent), France (+9.1 per cent), the UK (+8.6 per cent) and Spain (+7.9 per cent) all performed very well, while demand in Italy (+0.4 per cent) remained similar to January 2018 levels.
January 2019 results in the heavy truck segment showed a strong uplift (+7.4 per cent) with 27,948 units registered in the EU. Except for Italy (-10.2 per cent) all major markets posted robust growth in the first month of the year; with the UK (+31.1 per cent), Germany (+26.9 per cent) and Spain (+12.2 per cent) recording double-digit increases.
In the first month of the year for new medium heavy commercial vehicles, EU new truck registrations started positively, increasing by 7.1 per cent compared to last year. Of the five biggest EU markets, the UK (+24.9 per cent) and Germany (+23.4 per cent) saw the strongest growth, while demand for trucks fell in Italy (-10.2 per cent).