Commercial vehicle registrations: +3.2% in 2017; -3.5% in December
Brussels, 25 January 2018 – In December 2017, commercial vehicle registrations across the EU declined (-3.5%), due in part to one less working day than December last year.
Total new commercial vehicles
In December 2017, commercial vehicle registrations across the EU declined (-3.5%), due in part to one less working day than December last year. Demand contracted across all segments and in the five big EU markets except for Germany (+0.2%). The Italian market posted the strongest decline, with registrations falling by 17.4% in December.
In 2017, demand for new commercial vehicles remained positive throughout the EU, counting 2.4 million units registered or 3.2% more than in 2016. Spain drove this growth with the highest percentage increase (+13.5%), followed by France (+6.9%) and Germany (+3.3%). By contrast, demand in Italy (-2.3%) and the United Kingdom (-4.4%) fell in 2017.
New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5 tonnes
In December 2017, EU demand for vans was lower than a year ago (-3.0%) with 172,603 vehicles registered in total. Among the major EU markets results were diverse, with Germany (+2.2%) and the UK (+2.9%) showing growth while demand contracted in Italy (-18.0%), France (-3.9%) and Spain (-1.7%).
Overall in 2017, some 2 million new light commercial vehicles were registered across the European Union, 3.9% more than in 2016. Spain (+15.5%), France (+7.1%) and Germany (+4.9%) saw the strongest growth, but demand for vans declined in the United Kingdom (-3.6%) and Italy (-3.4%).
New heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) of 16 tonnes and over
December results show that registrations of new heavy commercial vehicles fell by 6.2% compared to the same month one year ago, with 23,137 units registered. Heavy-truck demand contracted in the UK (-24.9%), Italy (-8.7%) and Spain (-5.5%), although the French market did very well (+7.6%).
In 2017, HCV demand only saw a modest increase (+0.5%), counting 297,171 new vehicles. The Italian market showed the strongest gains (+8.4%), followed by France (+6.9%) and Germany (+1.4%). On the other hand, demand for heavy commercial vehicles declined in the United Kingdom (-7.9%) and Spain (-0.6%).
New medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) over 3.5 tonnes
December 2017 results of the truck segment were significantly lower (-6.7%) than in December 2016; 29,051 new trucks were registered in total during the last month of 2017. Demand declined in the United Kingdom (-22.2%), Italy (-13.5%), Spain (-5.8%) and Germany (-5.3%), but it did grow in France (+7.5%).
Overall in 2017, 367,102 new trucks were registered in the European Union – more or less the same number (-0.2%) as in 2016. France (+6.5%) and Italy (+4.5%) performed well in 2017, but truck registrations fell in the UK and Germany (-7.1% and -0.9% respectively).
New medium and heavy buses & coaches (MHBC) over 3.5 tonnes
In December, demand for new buses and coaches was rather stable compared to December 2016 (-0.3%). Registrations fell in most of the major EU markets, especially in the United Kingdom (-24.0%) and Spain (-25.6%) – except for France (+48.1%). Noteworthy are the strong results posted by the new EU member states, their registrations went up by 47.8% in December.
In 2017, the EU bus and coach market contracted slightly (-0.5%), totalling 40,515 units. The UK and France saw demand fall by -18.8% and -4.0% respectively, but registrations of new buses and coaches increased substantially in Italy (+20.3%) and Spain (+6.9%).
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About ACEA
- The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) is the Brussels-based trade association of the 14 major car, van, truck and bus producers in Europe.
- The ACEA commercial vehicle members are DAF Trucks, Daimler Truck, Ford Trucks, Iveco Group, MAN Truck & Bus, Scania, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, and Volvo Group.
- Visit www.acea.auto for more information about ACEA, and follow us on www.twitter.com/ACEA_auto or www.linkedin.com/company/ACEA/.
- Contact: Francesca Piazza, Senior Statistics Manager, fp@acea.auto.
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About the EU automobile industry
- 13.0 million Europeans work in the automotive sector
- 11.5% of all manufacturing jobs in the EU
- €374.6 billion in tax revenue for European governments
- €79.5 billion trade surplus for the European Union
- Almost 8% of EU GDP generated by the auto industry
- €58.8 billion in R&D spending annually, 32% of EU total
