European Commercial Vehicle Registrations up 2.8% in June

In June 2019, demand for new commercial vehicles in the EU remained positive (+2.8%), marking the sixth consecutive month of growth.  

Total new commercial vehicles

The truck and bus segments contributed strongly to this result, while van registrations slowed down last month. With the exception of Spain (-0.7%), all major EU markets recorded solid growth in June. The UK (+18.5%) and Germany (+10.5%) saw the strongest gains last month.

Over the first half of the year, the EU market for commercial vehicles grew by 5.8%, counting 1,358,271 new vehicles in total. Germany led this growth with a 13.9% increase, followed by the United Kingdom (+10.2%), France (+6.9%), Italy (+4.8%) and Spain (+2.6%).

New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5t

Last month, EU demand for vans weakened, down 5.0% compared to one year ago. Light commercial vehicle registrations posted declines in German (-1.4%) and Spanish markets (-4.4%). On the other hand, demand remained positive in the UK (+13.5%) and, albeit more moderately, in Italy (+3.0%) and France (+0.4%). European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA)

Six months into the year, registrations of new light commercial vehicles grew by 3.8% despite the slowdown observed in June. Each of the largest EU markets has performed well so far: Germany (+11.7%), the United Kingdom (+8.7%), Italy (+5.9%), France (+5.6%) and Spain (+2.3%).

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

In June 2019, demand for new heavy trucks grew significantly (+46.9%) compared to June 2018, counting more than 40,000 units registered. The five largest markets all posted double-digit increases, strongly contributing to the region’s positive result.

During the first half of 2019, 185,511 heavy trucks were registered across the European Union, up 15.6% compared to the same period one year ago. The UK (+28.2%), Germany (+19.3%) and France (+18.7%) posted the strongest gains, while demand for heavy duty vehicles in the Italian market remained stable.

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

In June 2019, new truck registrations in the EU posted solid growth (+47%) compared to one year ago, counting 51,162 units sold. All the five major EU markets performed very well, with the UK (+62.1%) and Germany (+44.9%) posting the highest increases.

During the first semester of the year, the EU truck market expanded by 16.5% to reach 228,361 units in total. The United Kingdom (+26.2%), Germany (+21.2%) and France (+17.6%) were the main drivers of this growth. Thanks to the very good performance in June, cumulative results also improved in Spain (+4.4%) and Italy – with registrations now stable compared to a year ago.

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

In June 2019, bus and coach registrations across the European Union substantially increased (+32.2%). The EU’s key markets posted mixed results, with the UK (-25.8%) and Italian

markets (-3.4%) posting declines, while demand in France (+24.9%), Germany (+20.0%) and Spain (+16.3%) grew significantly.

Over the first half of 2019, demand for new buses and coaches saw a considerable improvement (+9.2%), mainly due to the strong performance of the segment in May and June. The Central European markets (+29.7%) made an important contribution to the region’s growth, especially given that two of the five largest EU markets posted declines so far in 2019.