EU Commercial Vehicle Registrations up 8.5% in May

In May 2019, commercial vehicle registrations continued to increase in the EU (+8.5%), marking the fifth consecutive month of growth.  

Total new commercial vehicles

Demand was sustained across all segments, with trucks and buses recording the highest percentage increases. The region’s five largest markets contributed positively to this result. Germany (+24.7%) and France (+12.6%) saw the strongest gains last month.

From January to May 2019, the EU market for commercial vehicles grew by 6.5%, counting 1.1 million new vehicles in total. Germany led this growth with a 14.7% increase, followed by the United Kingdom (+7.9%), France (+7.7%), Italy (+3.9%) and Spain (+3.3%).

New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5t

Last month, EU demand for vans remained positive, up 5.8% compared to one year ago. With the exception of Spain, all major EU markets recorded solid growth in May. Germany (+23.5%) showed the highest increase again, while France (+9.5%), the UK (+5.4%) and Italy (+5.1%) followed with single-digit percentages.

Five months into the year, registrations of new light commercial vehicles grew by 5.9% to reach 908,291 vehicles sold. Each of the largest markets made a positive contribution to the region's overall performance: Germany (+14.7%), the United Kingdom (+7.5%), France (+6.9%), Italy (+6.0%) and Spain (+3.8%).

New heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) of 16t and over

In May 2019, demand for new heavy trucks grew significantly (+21.2%) compared May 2018, counting 31,910 units registered. Growth was driven by double-digit gains in France (+35.3%), Germany (+25.2%) and Spain (+14.1%). The United Kingdom (+6.2%) and Italy (+5.0%) followed with more modest increases.

From January to May 2019, 143,694 heavy trucks were registered across in the European Union, or 8.6% more than during the same period in 2018. The UK (+17.6%), Germany (+14.8%) and France (+14.5%) posted strong increases, while the Italian (‐8.6%) and Spanish (-1.9%) markets saw falling demand for new heavy trucks.

New medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) over 3.5t

May 2019 results show that demand for new trucks went up significantly last month (+21.6%). The five major EU markets performed very well, with France (+35.9%), Germany (+27.1%) and Spain (+13.6%) posting the highest increases.

So far in 2019, the EU truck market expanded by 9.6% to reach 176,548 units in total. Germany (+15.9%), the United Kingdom (+15.3%) and France (+13.9%) were the main drivers of this growth. By contrast, new truck registrations decreased in Spain and Italy (-1.9% and -7.6% respectively) five months into the year.

New medium and heavy buses & coaches (MHBC) over 3.5t

In May 2019, bus and coach registrations across the EU grew strongly (+23.3%) after declining for two consecutive months. The EU’s key markets saw diverse performances, with the United Kingdom (-22.6%) and Italy (-14.9%) posting double-digit drops, while demand in France (+50.3%), Germany (+45.5%) and Spain (+32.3%) increased substantially.

Five months into the year, demand for new buses and coaches showed a modest increase (+4.2%), mainly due to the strong performance of the segment in May. The Central European markets (+26.5%) made an important contribution to this positive result, especially given that three of the five largest EU markets posted declines so far in 2019.