In October, demand for new commercial vehicles were down by 9.4% in the EU*, compared to October last year, amounting to 147,211 units. All major markets shrank, by 3.8% in Germany, 8.6% in the UK, 9.8% in France, 16.4% in Italy and 20.4% in Spain. Ten months into the year, contraction also prevailed across all significant markets, leading to an overall 10.6% downturn in the region*. New registrations decreased by 3.6% in the UK, 4.1% in Germany, 8.0% in France, 25.2% in Spain and 33.0% in Italy. In total, 1,429,287 new vehicles were registered in the EU*.
New Light Commercial Vehicles up to 3.5t – “vans”
In October, new van registrations amounted to 118,723 units, or 9.7% less than in October 2011. Looking at the major markets, Germany saw its market decline by 3.5%, the UK by 8.1%, France by 9.5%, Italy by 16.0% and Spain by 24.3%. From January to October, the EU* registered 1,159,579 new vans, or 11.5% less than in the same period a year earlier. Germany, the UK and France experienced a contraction of 2.9%, 6.5% and 8.2% respectively, while Spain (-25.7%) and Italy (-33.4%) faced a more severe downturn.
In October, the EU* totaled 20,294 new heavy trucks, or 5.6% less than in the same month last year. Downturn prevailed across major markets as Spain (-2.8%), Germany (-4.1%), France (-5.0%), the UK (-9.7%) and Italy (-19.6%) all saw their demand for new trucks decline. From January to October, among the most significant markets, the UK was the only one to perform better than in the first ten months of last year (+3.8%). The German (-6.5%), French (-7.0%), Spanish (-18.3%) and Italian (-28.8%) were down, leading to an overall 7.4% depression of the EU* market which totaled 182,646 vehicles.
New Commercial Vehicles over 3.5t (excluding Buses & Coaches) – “trucks”
October results in the segment of trucks fell by 5.3% compared to October last year, with a total of 26,354 new registrations. Downturn in the major markets ranged from 2.6% in Spain to 3.6% in France, 4.3% in Germany, 6.2% in the UK and 20.1% in Italy. In the first ten months of the year, 243,457 new trucks were registered, or 7.1% less than in the same period in 2011. The UK market expanded (+9.2%), while markets in France (-5.6%), Germany (-7.4%), Spain (-19.5%) and Italy (-29.6%) contracted.
New Buses & Coaches over 3.5t
Registrations of new buses and coaches in October recorded the sharpest fall across segments (-30.4%), totaling 2,134 units. All major markets faced a double-digit downturn, from -11.6% in Germany to -18.1% in Italy, -31.4% in Spain, -36.4% in the UK and -49.9% in France. From January to October, results were diverse as the German market remained stable (+0.8%), while the UK expanded by 42.4% and France (-13.2%), Italy (-30.8%) and Spain (-36.6%) saw their demand decline. Overall, new bus and coach registrations slipped by 0.3%, amounting to 26,251 vehicles.
* Data for Malta unavailable
