Commercial vehicle sales rise for a third consecutive month in June

25 July 2018

Registrations of new commercial vehicles in Europe posted a third consecutive month of growth in June, driven mainly by van sales.

According to new figures released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), a total of 247,000 units were sold in the sixth month of the year, up 7.3% on the same period in 2017. The result came from a positive van sales market that accounted for almost 85% of sales.

Growth was recorded in Spain, with its market up by 9%, while Germany was up 7.2% and France grew 3.2%. However, Italy’s market fell by 1.3%, with the UK sector dropping by 7.7% as the country’s market continues to fluctuate. A strong rise in sales was seen in Sweden, where commercial vehicle registrations, mainly vans and buses, almost tripled compared to June 2017.

For the first half of the year, the EU market has expanded by 4.7%, with almost 1.3 million units sold. Over this period, Spain posted the biggest increase, up 10.9%, followed by France with a rise of 5%, Germany with 3.7% and Italy with a modest 2.1% increase. However, the UK market has contracted by 3.5% so far in 2018.

In June 2018, demand for light commercial vehicles (LCV) posted robust growth, up 8.3% across the whole of Europe, sustained by very positive results in the new EU member states which posted growth of 14.9%. In total, 209,364 new vans were registered in the EU, exceeding for the first time the June 2007 result, reached before the industry was hit by the economic crisis. Among the key EU markets, Spain (up 11.4%), Germany (up 5.7%) and France (up 3.7%) did well, but new LCV registrations declined in the United Kingdom by 5.8% and in Italy by 3.8%.

From January to June 2018, 1,066,703 new vans were registered across the European Union, up 5.1% compared to the same period one year ago. The United Kingdom, down 2.3%, was the only major market to post a decline, while Spain (11.6%), France (5.0%) and Germany (5.0%) have all performed well so far in 2018.

In June 2018, new medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) registrations increased slightly in the European Union by 2.3%, counting 34,196 units. The Italian (13.4%) and German (12.9%) markets posted growth last month, although registrations did fall in the UK by 19.2%, Spain by 6.8% and France by 2.2%.

Over the first half of the year, EU demand for new trucks went up by 3.4%, counting 195,191 units. Italy (14.5%), Spain (6.2%) and France (5.8%) all performed very well. On the contrary, the United Kingdom (down 9.8%) saw its registrations decline compared with the first semester of 2017.

June results in the heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) segment were 2.3% higher than a year ago, with 27,580 new vehicles registered. HCV sales increased in Germany (16.3%) and Italy (11.4%) but declined in the UK by 21.9%, Spain by 11.6% and France by 2.1%.

Six months into the year, demand for heavy trucks has remained positive across the EU, up 3.9% compared to one year ago. Overall, 159,881 new vehicles have been registered so far. Italy (16.7%), France (7.3%), Spain (5.4%) and Germany (1.6%) positively contributed to the region’s growth, while demand fell in the UK by 11.6%.