EU commercial vehicle market up 10% in October

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Trailer-Body Builders  /  November 27, 2017

In October, commercial vehicle registrations across the EU gained momentum, showing positive growth (+10.7%) compared to one year ago, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). 

Demand was sustained across all segments, except for buses and coaches. Among the five big markets, Spain (+20.9%), France (+18.6%) and Germany (+14.5%) recorded the highest gains, while the United Kingdom (-9.8%) performed significantly less well than in October last year.

From January to October 2017, demand for new commercial vehicles remained positive in the EU, with almost 2 million new vehicles registered – up 4.0% compared to last year. Spain continued to drive growth (+15.1%), and so did France (+7.7%), Germany (+3.3%) and Italy (+1.8%). UK demand, however, contracted (-3.9%) over this period.

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

In October, demand for new heavy commercial vehicles grew by 5.3% after posting a decline in September. Results were diverse across the five big EU markets, with registrations falling in the UK (-18.3%) and demand going up in France (+20.7%), Italy (+7.3%) and Germany (+5.7%). In total, 28,521 heavy trucks were registered in the EU last month.

So far in 2017, the HCV market posted a modest increase (+0.9%), counting 247,065 new vehicle registrations. The Italian market saw the strongest gains (+13.7%), followed by France (+6.0%). Demand for heavy commercial vehicles remained relatively stable in Germany (+0.1%) and Spain (-0.04%).

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

October 2017 registrations of new trucks were 3.9% higher than in October last year, totaling 34,336 new units. Growth was sustained across all major EU markets, except for the United Kingdom.

From January to October 2017, 305,259 new trucks were registered in the EU – a stable performance (+0.3%) when compared to last year’s results. Italy (+10.7%) and France (+5.8%) did very well so far in 2017, while truck registrations decreased in the UK and Germany (-4.5% and -1.2% respectively).

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

In October, demand for new buses and coaches fell for the second consecutive month, down 13.4% and totaling 2,703 units. Demand contracted strongly in the five big EU markets except for Spain, which posted double-digit growth (+22.4%).

Over the first 10 months of 2017, the EU bus and coach market remained more or less stable (+0.3%), counting 32,859 new vehicles registered. The UK and France saw demand fall by -17.7% and -11.8% respectively, while new bus and coach registrations increased substantially in Italy (+31.6%) and Spain (+13.1%).

New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5 tonnes

October 2017 results show a robust increase (+12.7%) in EU demand for vans. All major EU markets contributed positively to last month’s growth, except for the United Kingdom. The Spanish and German markets accounted for the strongest growth (+25.0% and +19.9% respectively), while LCV demand contracted in the UK (-7.4%).

Ten months into the year, more than 1.6 million new vans were registered across the European Union, up 4.8% compared to the same period in 2016. Spain (+17.2%), France (+8.3%) and Germany (+5.1%) maintained momentum, while demand for light commercial vehicles declined (-3.5%) in the United Kingdom.