Commercial vehicle registrations: +4.7% first half of 2018; +7.3% in June

Total new commercial vehicles

In June 2018, registrations of new commercial vehicles in the EU posted the third consecutive month of growth (+7.3%), with 247,000 units registered in total. This positive result was mainly driven by van sales, which account for almost 85% of the commercial vehicle sector’s demand. Growth was recorded in Spain (+9.0%), Germany (+7.2%) and France (+3.2%), while demand fell in the Italian and UK markets (down 1.3% and 7.7% respectively). Noteworthy was the strong increase observed in Sweden, where commercial vehicle registrations – mainly vans and buses – almost tripled compared to June 2017.

During the first half of 2018 the EU market expanded by 4.7%, counting almost 1.3 million new commercial vehicles. Spain posted the highest growth over this period (+10.9%), followed by France (+5.0%), Germany (+3.7%) and Italy (+2.1%). The UK market, on the other hand, has contracted by 3.5% so far this year.

New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5 tonnes

In June 2018, demand for light commercial vehicles posted robust growth (+8.3%), sustained by very positive results in the new EU member states (+14.9%). In total, 209,364 new vans were registered in the EU, exceeding for the first time the June 2007 result – reached before the industry was hit by the economic crisis. Among the key EU markets, Spain (+11.4%), Germany (+5.7%) and France (+3.7%) did well, but new LCV registrations declined in the United Kingdom (-5.8%) and in Italy (-3.8%).

From January to June 2018, 1,066,703 new vans were registered across the European Union, up 5.1% compared to the same period one year ago. The United Kingdom (-2.3%) was the only major market to post a decline, while Spain (+11.6%), France (+5.0%) and Germany (+5.0%) have all performed well so far in 2018.

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

June results in the heavy truck segment were 2.3% higher than a year ago, with 27,580 new vehicles registered. HCV sales increased in Germany (+16.3%) and Italy (+11.4%) but declined in the UK (-21.9%), Spain (-11.6%) and France (-2.1%).

Six months into the year, demand for heavy trucks has remained positive across the EU, up 3.9% compared to one year ago. Overall, 159,881 new vehicles have been registered so far. Italy (+16.7%), France (+7.3%), Spain (+5.4%) and Germany (+1.6%) positively contributed to the region’s growth, while demand fell in the UK (-11.6%).

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

In June 2018, new truck registrations increased slightly in the European Union (+2.3%), counting 34,196 units. The Italian (+13.4%) and German (+12.9%) markets posted growth last month, although registrations did fall in the UK (-19.2%), Spain (-6.8%) and France (-2.2%).

Over the first half of the year, EU demand for new trucks went up by 3.4%, counting 195,191 units. Italy (+14.5%), Spain (+6.2%) and France (+5.8%) all performed very well. On the contrary, the United Kingdom (-9.8%) saw its registrations decline compared with the first semester of 2017.

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

June 2018 results showed a decline in the bus and coach segment (-3.4%) after the slight recovery observed last May.  There were diverging trends in the five key EU markets, with Italy and France posting double-digit gains (+44.2% and +22.0% respectively), while the Spanish (-33.6%) and UK (-21.7%) markets faced substantial declines.

During the first semester of 2018, EU bus and coach registrations were slightly lower than one year ago (-0.9%), counting 20,206 new vehicles. Demand strongly increased in Italy (+19.0%), but registrations fell in the UK (-16.3%) and Germany (-6.1%). New EU member states made a substantial contribution to the cumulative half-year results (+18.3%).