In October 2018, EU commercial vehicle registrations posted growth again after slowing down in September. Demand went up by 6.9% last month, with all vehicle segments performing positively.
Total new commercial vehicles
Except for Italy (-13.2%), all major EU markets recorded growth. Germany saw the strongest increase (+16.9%), followed by the United Kingdom (+10.9%), France (+7.3%) and Spain (+1.7%).
Over the first 10 months of 2018 growth was positive (+3.9%), counting more than two million new commercial vehicles registered across the European Union. Spain posted the highest growth rate (+7.9%), followed by France (+5.4%) and Germany (+5.4%). By contrast, demand fell in Italy (-2.2%) and the United Kingdom (-2.2%) during the same period.
New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5t
In October 2018, EU demand for light commercial vehicles increased by 6.0%, almost entirely compensating for the losses in September. All five major markets – with the exception of Italy (-16.6%) – saw registrations rise substantially, especially Germany (+15.0%) and the UK (+14.1%).
From January to October 2018, demand for vans increased by 3.7% compared to 2017, totaling 1.7 million units registered. Looking at the biggest EU markets, Spain (+8.8%), Germany (+6.2%) and France (+5.0%) continued to drive growth, while Italy (-4.5%) and the United Kingdom (-1.6%) performed worse than 1 year ago.
New heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) of 16t and over
October 2018 registrations of heavy trucks saw a strong increase, with 7.7% more vehicles sold across the European Union. Results were diverse among the five key EU markets: demand fell again in Spain (-7.3%) and the UK (-9.9%), but heavy truck registrations increased significantly in Germany (+18.6%), France (+13.8%) and Italy (+6.8%).
Ten months into the year, demand for heavy trucks is still strong, with 263,356 new vehicles registered so far this year – up 5.1% compared to 2017. The United Kingdom (-7.4%) was the only major market to post a decline, while Italy (+11.5%), France (+10.2%), Germany (+3.8%) and Spain (+0.6%) all contributed positively to EU growth.
New medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) over 3.5t
In October 2018, new truck registrations in the EU posted the biggest increase since April this year (+9.6%). Growth was largely driven by Germany (+21.5%), France (+12.1%) and Italy (+10.9%), all of which posted double-digit gains, while demand contracted in the UK (-6.4%) and Spain (-5.2%).
Over the first 10 months of the year, EU demand for new trucks went up by 5.0% to reach 323,152 units. Italy (+10.2%), France (+9.1%), Germany (+3.5%) and Spain (+2.1%) performed well, but new truck registrations declined in the United Kingdom (-5.1%) so far this year.
New medium and heavy buses & coaches (MHBC) over 3.5t
October 2018 results for the bus and coach segment showed strong growth (+25.0%), marking the highest increase since November 2015. The Italian and German markets posted the biggest gains (+76.0% and +47.3% respectively), followed by the UK (+23.2%), France (+8.1%) and Spain (+7.3%).
From January to October 2018, EU demand for new buses and coaches grew by 2.8% compared to one year ago, boosted by the excellent performance of most EU markets last month. Demand was strong in both Italy (+38.7%) and France (+8.2%). Nevertheless, bus and coach registrations fell in the UK (-9.6%), Spain (-2.4%) and Germany (-0.4%), although at a slower pace than before.