EU Commercial Vehicle Registrations Declined 8.9% in November

In November 2019, commercial vehicle registrations fell again (-8.9%), marking the third consecutive month of decline across the European Union.

Total new commercial vehicles

Demand contracted in all vehicle segments and across all major EU markets. Italy saw the strongest drop last month (-11.7%), followed by the UK (-10.7%), France (-7.1%), Germany (-6.1%) and Spain (-2.5%).

Eleven months into the year, demand for new commercial vehicles in the European Union remained positive (+2.2%), thanks to growth earlier in the year. The five largest markets in the region have performed well so far: Germany (+6.7%), France (+4.0%), Italy (+2.6%), the United Kingdom (+2.6%) and Spain (+1.1%).

New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5t

In November, registrations of light commercial vehicles fell by 7.9% across the European Union. The main cause remains the introduction of the new WLTP emissions test on 1 September. As a result, demand for new vans dropped in most EU countries last month, including the five major markets: Italy (-11.6%), the UK (-9.6%), France (-6.1%), Spain (-3.7%) and Germany (-3.3%).

From January to November 2019, the EU market for new vans went up by 2.3% to reach more than 1.9 million vehicles registered, despite the declines posted during the last three months. The five major markets have all posted gains so far this year; notably Germany (+7.4%), Italy (+4.3%) and France (+4.1%).

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

November results showed a significant decrease in new heavy-truck registrations (‐17.6%). With the exception of Spain (+10.8%), all the key EU markets performed worse than one year ago, especially the UK (-24.6%), Germany (-19.3%) and France (-17.5%) – all posting double-digit declines.

So far in 2019, heavy-truck registrations in the EU saw a modest increase (+1.0%) despite the negative results of the segment over the last five months. Growth was supported by four of the five key markets: the United Kingdom (+10.8%), Spain (+3.4%), France (+3.3%) and Germany (+3.2%). However, the Italian heavy-duty market contracted by 7.5% from January to November.

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

Last month, EU demand for trucks went down (-15.3%) for the fifth consecutive month this year. Four of the five largest markets in the region contributed to this decline, with Spain (+7.1%) being the only major market to post growth in November.

Eleven months into 2019, truck registrations in the EU increased by 1.6% to 363,963 units. The United Kingdom (+9.7%), Germany (+5.4%), France (+2.5%) and Spain (+1.6%) performed better than one year ago, while Italy (-7.1%) saw its demand falling over the first eleven months of 2019.

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

Last month, EU demand for buses and coaches declined by 3.4% compared to November 2018. However, the five big markets posted diverse results. The UK and France saw strong growth (+13.3% and +4.3% respectively), while demand in Italy (-31.8%) and Germany (-9.0%) dropped sharply.

From January to November, new bus and coach registrations in the European Union remained slightly positive (+2.0%). Central European countries (+9.3% so far in 2019) contributed largely to this result. Among the largest Western European markets, only France (+4.2%) and Spain (+0.3%) provided a modest boost.