Strong growth for the EU LCV market in 2024

30 January 2025

Registrations of new light-commercial vehicles (LCVs) in the EU improved in 2024, with the sector’s major markets driving growth. Tom Hooker, Autovista24 journalist, reviews the data.

A total of 1.58 million LCVs up to 3.5 tonnes gross-vehicle weight were delivered across the EU in 2024, up 8.3% year on year. This equated to a rise of over 121,000 units compared with 2023 and was the sector’s best performance since 2019.

Out of the 27 member states, 19 recorded improvements, including the six biggest LCV markets. Overall, nine countries enjoyed double-digit growth compared to 2023, albeit with differing volume levels. Only three regions endured a decline of over 10%.

Major EU markets improve

Recording the largest sales volume, France saw registrations increase by 1.1% year on year, thanks to 379,747 units. Volumes in Germany jumped by 8.4%, reaching 281,078 deliveries. Italy improved registrations by 0.9% with 198,517 units, while Spain rose 13.7%, recording 166,157 deliveries.

The EU’s fifth-biggest LCV market, the Netherlands, enjoyed the greatest growth of any member state. Volumes surged 87.4% thanks to 129,878 registrations, a gain of 60,584 units compared to 2023.

Of the five-digit sales markets, notable performances were recorded in Hungary (up 19.4%), Romania (up 17.3%) and Portugal (up 13.3%). Increases were also recorded in Denmark (up 9%), Austria (up 7.7%), Ireland (up 6.7%) and Poland (up 3.6%).

Conversely, Sweden endured a 12.3% decline, Czechia suffered a 4.3% decrease and deliveries in Belgium fell by 2.6%. Luxembourg posted the largest decline of any country, down 26.1%. However, this was on a lower delivery total.

Diesel carries the market

Diesel powertrains carried the EU LCV market in the full year, accounting for 84.5% of all registrations. This was ahead of its 82.7% share in 2023. Diesel volumes increased by 10.5% year on year, reaching 1.34 million deliveries. This represented an increase of 127,728 units.

The drivetrain recorded growth across the big four EU markets. Spain surged 18.3% with 149,119 diesel registrations. Germany increased volumes by 12.5%, reaching 246,613 deliveries, and Italy posted a 5% improvement thanks to 164,321 new units.

France saw the highest volume of diesel-powered LCVs in 2024, with 294,660 registrations. However, this was an increase of just 1.1% year on year, the smallest growth of any member state.

Meanwhile, the biggest improvement from 2023 was seen in the Netherlands. The country recorded 112,937 deliveries in the year, jumping 100.2% or 56,527 units.

Only seven markets faced a decline in diesel registrations. Yet, four of these posted under 10,000 deliveries in 2024. The other three countries were Sweden (down 20.3%), Czechia (down 4.1%) and Belgium (down 3.9%).

The rest of the five-digit diesel markets enjoyed growth. Hungary and Romania saw volumes rise 16.4%, followed by Portugal (up 14.9%), Austria (up 11.1%), Ireland (up 6.5%), Poland (up 4.9%) and Denmark (up 2.7%).

Electric LCV market falls

Electric LCVs, including battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), fell 9.1% in 2024. The powertrain grouping recorded 96,159 registrations, a loss of 9,598 units year on year. The technology accounted for 6.1% of all deliveries, down 1.1 percentage points (pp).

The segment’s biggest market, France, endured a 2.6% decrease, with 27,059 deliveries. Germany, the second-largest market, saw an even greater volume slump of 27.9% in the full year, with 14,999 registrations. This equated to a drop of 5,799 units.

The only other five-digit market, the Netherlands, posted a 17.4% improvement, reaching 11,704 deliveries. Spain and Italy recorded just 7,184 and 4,299 registrations respectively. The former fell 27.9% in 2024, while Italy plummeted 40.9%. The two countries struggled with enticing buyers into electric vans, mirroring the trend in each market’s new-car registrations.

Sweden reached 8,698 deliveries up 0.4%. Meanwhile, Denmark’s electric LCV market rose by 51.3% with 4,941 registrations.

Petrol closes in

Petrol LCV volumes trended positively in 2024, growing 3% year on year thanks to 94,466 deliveries. This significantly narrowed the gap between the powertrain and electric LCVs to 1,693 units. In 2023, this difference stood at 14,049 registrations. It took a market share of 6%, down 0.3pp compared to one year ago.

The big four EU member states saw contrasting petrol demand. Spain surged 39.8%, thanks to 7,667 deliveries, a gain of 2,184 units. Germany saw petrol volumes improve by 4.3%, reaching 14,902 registrations. On the other hand, Italy dropped 10% with 7,606 deliveries. France, the largest market, fell 2.3% with 41,581 deliveries.

The remaining four-digit markets enjoyed growth, except for Poland (down 3.2%). Notable growth was reached in the Netherlands (up 70.8%), Belgium (up 22.5%), Romania (up 19.7%), Czechia (up 16.7%) and Denmark (up 14%).

Hybrid LCV decline

Hybrid LCV registrations, made up of full and mild-hybrid models, declined by 4.8% in 2024. The powertrain posted 32,282 units and made up 2% of all deliveries. This was down from its 2.3% share recorded in 2023.

Italy led the hybrid LCV market. However, it suffered a 9.4% volume drop in the full year, with 14,864 registrations. France followed with a 22.9% improvement, reaching 11,701 deliveries. Spain was some distance behind with 1,625 registrations, yet this marked a year-on-year drop of 60.6%. Meanwhile, Germany declined 10%, with 1,631 deliveries.

The lowest volume LCV powertrain in 2024 was the ‘others’ category, including hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, models powered by natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, E85 and ethanol, as well as other fuels. Yet, the powertrain grouping grew 8.8% in the full year, thanks to 23,778 units. This gave it a 1.5% market share, stable from 2023.

The powertrain grouping saw the highest volume in Italy, with 7,427 registrations. However, this was down 7.8% year on year. Conversely, France increased deliveries by 12.8%, recording 4,746 units. Then came Sweden, which surged 63.1% with 3,256 deliveries, while Germany fell 12.1% with 2,933 units.

The remaining two four-digit markets saw a significant jump in demand. The Netherlands posted 2,020 registrations, jumping 92.7%. Volumes in Ireland grew by 71.8%, reaching 2,282 deliveries.