European Commercial vehicle market grows in July and August

26 September 2018

Commercial vehicle registrations grew in Europe during both July and August, according to new figures released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).

All segments performed well during the summer months, marking five consecutive growth periods for the commercial vehicle industry. July saw a growth of 2.3%, while August saw the European market increased 7.3%.

For July, three of the big five European markets registered an increase in sales. France led the way with registrations rising 7.8%, followed by Spain with 4.9% and Germany with a modest 1.2% growth. However, Italy posted a drop of 2.1%, while the UK lost 6.3% compared to the same month last year.

In August, all of the big five markets increased registrations, although this could have been affected by the September introduction of WLTP, an issue that has seen large growth in the European car sales market. Spain led the way with sales rising 18%, followed by France with a 13.3% rise, and Germany posting an 11.7% increase. The UK and Italy saw modest rises in comparison, with their markets growing 2.4% and 1.7% respectively.

During the first eight months of 2018, the EU market expanded by 4.8% to reach 1.6 million new commercial vehicles. Spain saw the strongest growth over this period with 10.8%, followed by France with 6%, Germany with a 4.4% increase and Italy with 1.6%. By contrast, the UK market for commercial vehicles has contracted by 3% so far this year.

In the light commercial vehicle (LCV) market, demand grew by 0.9% in July, and 7.5% in August, the latter due to performance in new EU member states, which contributed growth of 14.5%. Among the five major markets, Spain grew by 5.4% in July and 20.2% in August, while France grew 5.1% and 12.7%, with Germany’s market increasing by 0.4% and 12.7%. The UK had mixed fortunes across the two months, down 5.9% in July but up 5% in August, with the Italian market down 3.4% in July and down again in August by 3%.

From January to August 2018, EU demand for vans increased by 4.8% compared to one year ago, with a total of 1,352,326 units registered so far. Results were diverse among the major EU markets, with the United Kingdom and Italy posting declines (2.2% and 0.4% respectively), while Spain (11.6%), France (5.7%) and Germany (5.4%) all recorded growth.

In the heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) market, France saw impressive growth in July of 24.8%, followed by 15.6% in August, while Germany’s market grew 1.9% and 9.6%. Spain and Italy had mixed fortunes across the two month period, with sales declining in the Spanish market by 7.5% in July but rising 10.7% in August, while the Italians saw a drop of 0.1% in July, and 4.7% growth in the following month. The UK saw declines in both periods, down 15.2% and 9.4% respectively.

Eight months into the year, demand for new heavy trucks remained positive across the EU, registrations were up 5.1% compared to 2017. Overall, 205,628 new vehicles were registered so far in 2018. The only major market to post a decline was the United Kingdom (8.9%), while Italy (13.3%), France (10%), Spain (4.2%) and Germany (2.5%) performed well so far this year.