Commercial vehicle registrations: : -7.5% over five months; -7.4% in May

Brussels, 28/06/2013 In May, demand for new commercial vehicles resumed its downward trend after a slight increase in April (+3.6%) attributed to a calendar effect. Downturn prevailed across segments, leading to an overall 7.4% decrease in the EU* which counted a total of 135,587 new vehicles. The Spanish market remained stable (+0.4%), while the UK (-4.0%), Germany (-9.6%), France (-11.2%) and Italy (-16.2%) registered fewer vehicles than in May 2012. From January to May, the UK was the only major market to expand (+8.0%). The decline ranged from -9.4% in France to -10.2% in Spain, -10.9% in Germany and -21.3% in Italy. A total of 681,337 new commercial vehicles were registered in the region, or 7.5% less than in the first five months of last year.

New Light Commercial Vehicles up to 3.5t – “vans”

New van registrations were down 7.2% in May, amounting to 110,100 units. Looking at the major markets, Spain performed better than in May last year, while the UK (-3.8%), German (-8.2%), French (-11.1%) and Italian (-18.6%) markets all contracted. Five months into the year, the UK expanded by 13.0%, while Spain (-9.0%), France (-9.2%) and Germany (-9.6%) performed similarly. The Italian market faced a double-digit downturn (-22.5%). Overall, the EU* recorded 559,906 new vans, or 6.4% less than in January-May 2012.

New Heavy Commercial Vehicles over 16t (excluding Buses & Coaches) – “heavy trucks”

New heavy truck registrations amounted to 17,392 units in May, or 6.9% less than in the same month last year. The Italian market posted a slight growth (+3.4%), while the UK remained stable (-0.8%) and the Spanish (-7.4%), German (-11.6%) and French (-12.1%) contracted. From January to May, all major markets recorded negative results ranging from -10.5% in Italy to -11.5% in the UK, -13.3% in France, -13.8% in Germany and -17.6% in Spain. A total of 82,487 new heavy trucks was recorded in the EU*, representing a 12.5% decrease compared to the same period a year earlier.

New Commercial Vehicles over 3.5t (excluding Buses & Coaches) – “trucks”

In May, the segment of trucks decreased by 8.0%, with 23,048 new registrations in the EU*. Demand increased by 2.6% in Italy but was down in all other major markets, from -2.8% in the UK to -8.5% in Spain, -12.5% in France and -13.3% in Germany. Over five months, a double-digit drop was recorded across all significant markets. Registrations fell by 12.8% in France, 13.0% in the UK, 13.9% in Italy, 14.4% in Germany and 17.5% in Spain. The EU* recorded a total of 109,233 new trucks over the period, or 12.7% less than in the first five months of last year.

New Buses & Coaches over 3.5t

May results in the segment of buses and coaches showed a 9.4% downturn as the EU* recorded 2,439 new vehicles. The Italian (+0.0%) and German (+0.8%) markets remained stable, while the French (-1.4%), the UK (-18.3%) and the Spanish (-34.5%) contracted. From January to May, France was the only major country to post growth (+12.4%). Downturn ranged elsewhere from -2.3% in Germany to -3.9% in Italy, -14.6% in Spain and -18.9% in the UK. Overall, 12,198 new buses and coaches were registered, or 6.9% less than in the same period last year.