Overall growth for EU commercial vehicle market so far in 2024
30 July 2024
Commercial vehicle registrations in the EU grew across all categories in the first half of the year. Which powertrains powered this performance? Autovista24 special content editor, Phil Curry, analyses the numbers.
The EU’s commercial vehicle market experienced growth across all segments between January and June 2024. The latest figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) cover the light-commercial vehicle (LCV), medium, and heavy-truck markets.
The figures show a continuing trend of growth in the EU commercial vehicle market, especially for vans. This stretches back to the first quarter of 2023 when registrations improved every three months. Trucks began 2024 in decline, but bounced back in the second quarter of the year, enabling slight improvement across the half.
The LCV sector, categorising models up to 3.5 tonnes gross-vehicle weight (GVW) saw registrations increase by 15% in the first half. This was helped by double-digit growth in some of the bloc’s biggest markets.
The medium-truck segment, covering vehicles between 3.5 tonnes and 16 tonnes GVW, grew by 18.2% year on year. The heavy truck sector, for vehicles over 16 tonnes GVW, remained stable in the first six months of 2024, with a small 0.3% rise in deliveries.
Diesel dominates again
The LCV market is the biggest of the EU’s commercial vehicle sectors. In total, 840,409 units were registered in the first half of the year, as all but four countries saw growth in the six-month period.
In the big four markets, Germany led the way with a 19.3% increase in registrations, followed by Spain with an 18.5% improvement. Italy was next, as deliveries grew by 17.8%. France also performed strongly, with its LCV market ending the half up by 10.5%.
In the second quarter of the year, LCV registrations improved by 17.2%, according to Autovista24 analysis of the ACEA figures.
Diesel once again dominated the LCV market. Unlike the passenger-car sector, the fuel type has remained popular among buyers. Its long-distance driving and fast refuelling times appeal to businesses and drivers alike.
In the second quarter of the year, the fuel type saw LCV registrations increase by 20%. This meant diesel took an 84.4% market share, an increase from the 82.5% recorded between April and June last year. This performance reversed a small market share decline seen in the first quarter of the year.
In the first half, diesel saw deliveries increase by 16.2%, with 708,624 units. This gave the powertrain an 84.3% market share, up from 83.4% recorded in the first six months of 2023.
Petrol was the second most-popular LCV fuel type in the second quarter and the first half of the year. Autovista24 calculations show an increase of 12.3% between April and June, with a 6% market share.
However, this was a drop from 6.2% recorded at the same time last year. In the first half, petrol registrations were up 15.3%, with 50,727 units delivered. This meant the powertrain’s market share remained stable, at 6%.
Electric LCV struggles
The electric-LCV market, made up of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), struggled in the six-month period. This was, due to a particularly poor second quarter.
Plug-in van registrations declined 9.7% between April and June, undoing the positive performance of the first three months of 2024. By the end of the first half, the technology had declined 3.7%, with 48,771 registrations.
Electric powertrains therefore took a market share of 5.8% in the second quarter. This was down from the 7.6% held in the same three-month period last year. In the first half, the technology’s share fell to 5.8%, from a hold of 6.9% between January and June 2023.
This meant electric vehicles (EVs) fell further behind petrol by the end of the half. In 2023, BEVs and PHEVs had a commanding lead as the second-most-popular propulsion type after six months. Now in 2024, this situation has reversed. Petrol now holds a lead of just under 2,000 units, having outperformed EVs.
The LCV sector relies on long-distance driving and efficiency. This makes BEVs less attractive to buyers. Meanwhile, issues with charging infrastructure accessibility for larger vehicles may also be a factor in lower registration figures.
Hybrids, made up of full hybrids and mild hybrids, saw growth of 8.3% in the LCV market during the first half of the year. The category took a 2.1% market share, only marginally down year on year. The technology had a slower second quarter, with growth of 4.3%.
The ‘other’ category, including liquefied-petroleum gas (LPG), compressed-natural gas (CNG) and hydrogen, saw registrations grow 44.5% in the first six months of 2024, closing in on the hybrid category. This gave the sector a 1.7% market share.
Medium improvements
The medium-truck market saw 31,937 units registered in the first half of the year. In the second quarter, registrations were up by 28.7%, according to Autovista24 calculations.
The sector was again dominated by diesel, even more so than the LCV market. The powertrain saw 29,388 deliveries between January and June, up 17.6% and taking a 92% market share. This was a slight decline from the 92.5% recorded in the same period last year.
The dominance highlights how important practicality is in the medium-truck market. Diesel’s performance was buoyed by a strong second quarter, which saw it improve registrations by 26.7%, according to Autovista24 calculations. However, improvements among other powertrains saw its market share fall to 92.7%, from 94.2% a year previously.
EVs saw the biggest improvement in terms of registrations growth in the half, with a 48.3% increase year on year. This equated to a total of 1,792 units and a 5.6% market share, up from the 4.5% recorded between January and June 2023.
This was thanks to an impressive 120.9% improvement in the second quarter. The powertrain’s market share hit 4.7%, jumping from 2.8% in the same period of last year. The technology is the second most popular in the medium-truck sector.
The ‘other’ category fell by 1.5%, with 664 registrations recording a market share of 2.1%. A 22.6% increase in the second quarter was not enough to counter the poor performance in the first three months of 2024.
Petrol saw a 4.2% decline in registrations in the half, with 69 registrations equating to a 0.2% market share. Hybrids were the least-popular powertrain in the medium-truck market between January and June. This equated to 24 units delivered, down 68.4%, and a market share of just 0.1%.
Heavy stabilisation
A total of 151,358 units delivered in the first half of the year meant the heavy-truck market remained stable. The 0.3% increase in registrations equated to just 378 extra models taking to the EU’s roads.
The market struggled in the first quarter of the year. Then, its 6.1% improvement between April and June helped it back into a positive position for the half.
Once again, diesel dominated this market. In the second quarter, registrations increased by 6.4%, according to Autovista24 calculations. This gave the fuel type a 96.6% market share.
This meant that after six months, diesel saw deliveries improve by just 0.1%. Its 96.4% market share in that period was slightly down on the 96.6% recorded in the same period last year.
The second-most popular powertrain in the heavy-truck sector was the ‘others’ category. However, the 3,655 registrations in the first half of the year were down by 6.3% compared to 2023.
This left it with a 2.4% market share, a drop from 2.6% in the same period last year. This decline was down to a poor performance in the second quarter, with registrations declining by 12%.
EVs saw an increase of 55.2% in the first half of the year, with 1,707 units delivered. This resulted in a 1.1% market share, up from 0.7% a year previously. The powertrain is the only one to have recorded registrations growth across the first two quarters of the year.
Hybrids ended the half down by 77.5%, with 29 units equating to a 0.02% market share. Petrol had a small presence in the heavy-truck market, with five units delivered. This was a drop of 16.7%, leaving it with a minimal 0.003% share of the market.
