EU Commercial Vehicle Registrations Continue Downward Trajectory

ACEA reports all vehicle segments saw declines in October 2021, with van and bus sales recording the largest drops.

In October, demand for heavy trucks in the European Union shrank -4.5%, with the region posting a mixed bag of results.
In October, demand for heavy trucks in the European Union shrank -4.5%, with the region posting a mixed bag of results.
©Yuri Bizgaimer – stock.adobe.com

In October 2021, registrations of new commercial vehicles in the European Union (EU) continued their downward trajectory, posting another double-digit drop (-16.4%).

Total new commercial vehicles

All vehicle segments saw declines, but van and bus sales fell most significantly. The region’s overall performance was not helped by its largest markets, as all four suffered double-digit losses last month: Spain (-32.7%), Germany (-24.3%), France (-23.3%) and Italy (-22.9%).

Ten months into the year, demand for commercial vehicles in the European Union increased, helped by the low base during the first half of 2020. Sales volumes over this period totalled nearly 1.6 million units, a gain of 14.7% compared to the same period last year. So far in 2021, the results of the four big EU markets remained in positive territory: Italy (+22.2%), France (+11.8%), Spain (+4.5%) and Germany (+4.3%). 

New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5 T

Last month, registrations of new vans fell for the fourth month in a row this year, down by 17.8% to 119,006 units sold across the EU. Each of the region’s major markets recorded sharp declines last month. Spain saw the strongest drop (-36.8%), followed by Germany (-25.2%), France (-24.6%) and Italy (-22.8%).

From January to October 2021, EU sales of light commercial vehicles totalled 1.3 million units, up 14.1% year on year. Despite the declines in recent months, the largest markets all performed well so far, especially Italy (+21.9%) and France (+12.2%), while growth was more moderate in Spain (+3.7%) and Germany (+3.7%).

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

In October, demand for heavy trucks in the European Union shrank again (-4.5%), with the region posting a mixed bag of results. Most countries in Central Europe recorded gains, including Poland (+22.9%), while registrations in all key Western European markets contracted last month, negatively affecting the EU’s overall results.

So far this year, nearly 200,000 new heavy trucks were registered across the EU, an increase of 24.1% compared to the same period in 2020. Thanks to 2020’s low base, all major markets managed to remain in positive territory 10 months into the year: Italy (+30.5%), Spain (+18.6%), Germany (+12.3%) and France (+8.3%).

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

Last month, EU demand for trucks decreased by 7.5% to reach 23,479 new registrations. Just like in the heavy-truck segment, Central Europe posted positive results in October – especially Poland (+20.1%), which is one of the leading EU truck markets in volume terms. By contrast, the performance of Western Europe’s big markets was worse than in October 2020.

From January to October, new truck registrations in the European Union increased by 19.5%, counting 240,369 units sold in total. With the exception of Greece (-9.8%) and Cyprus (-21.1%), all EU markets posted growth over this 10-month period, including the four major ones.

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

October sales volumes in the bus segment shrank by 21.9% compared to the year before. The weak results of the largest markets – especially France (-28.4%) and Italy (-48.7%) – dragged down the region’s overall performance. Although smaller markets actually saw strong growth last month, this was not sufficient to offset the losses.

Ten months into 2021, new bus registrations across the EU grew by 2.4%, mainly thanks to gains made in earlier months. France, with 5,552 units, the leading market by volume, saw growth of 12.5%. Italy followed with an 8.7% increase in bus registrations, while Spanish (-8.3%) and German (-5.3%) sales contracted during this period.

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