Commercial vehicles: first half 2008 registrations level results from Jan-Jun 2007

Strong demand in the new EU Member States (+15.0%) counterbalanced the 2.1% decrease recorded in Western Europe. In June, however, the European* market contracted by 8.7%: the new EU Member States registered 5.6% more vehicles; Western Europe 10.3% less.

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

In June, the segment of light commercial vehicles decreased the most, falling by 9.5% compared to June last year. In Western Europe, where five countries posted growth, registrations dropped overall by 11.8%. The Dutch market recorded a growth (+7.1%) for the sixth month in a row, while France (+4.6%) and Germany (+7.9%) also maintained an upward trend. The British, Italian and Spanish markets performed less well than last year with respective losses of 5.7%, 11.4% and 42.8%. In the new EU Member States, the Czech Republic consolidated its position as biggest market with a 6.4% growth and 5,649 new vans registered, closely followed by Poland, which registered 5,256 units or 16.6% more than last year. The cumulative results from January to June saw a 2% contraction of the market. The Italian, French and German markets posted growths ranging from 3.2% to 8.9%. The UK, the second biggest market, stabilised at -0.3%, registering 169,519 new vans. With a drop of 27.7%, the Spanish market is still on a downward trend.

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

Over the month of June, demand for heavy commercial vehicles decreased by 3.5% in Europe, with a drop of 2.2% in Western Europe and 9.6% in the new EU Member States. The British market recorded a solid 38.2% increase, while the two largest markets, Germany (+4.2%) and France (+1.8%), posted growth as well. Spain recorded a 34.8% loss. In the new EU Member States, only Poland (+6.0%) and Slovenia (+13.0%) increased registrations. The cumulative figures for the first half-year are positive (+8.1%). New registrations in Western Europe (+9.8%) bolstered the European market as results in the new EU Member States were stable (-0.2%). The British market recorded the most important increase (+48.9%). France (+23.2%) and Italy (+6.4%) performed better than over the same period of 2007, while the German market, although slightly declining (-2.2%), registered the most vehicles (34,692).

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

Monthly figures for this vehicle segment revealed a decrease in demand in Europe* by 5.3%, resulting from a 2.2% contraction of the Western European market and a downturn of 18.9% in the new EU Member States. Markets in the UK (+21.6%), France (+4.6%) and Germany (+2.2%) posted growth, while Spain (-32.1%) and Italy (-17.9%) recorded a drop in their new registrations. Six months into the year, registrations went up by 7.8% in Western Europe, but declined by 2.9% in the new EU Member States, resulting in a 6.1% increase for the European* market. The UK, France and Italy improved last year’s performance by 33.4, 22.4 and 3.9% respectively. Germany recorded a slight decrease (-2.3%) and Spain a more important one (-11.7%). Poland posted a growth of 18.5%.

New Buses & Coaches over 3.5t

Demand for new buses and coaches in Europe was stable in June (+0.4%) and increased by 19.2% over the first half-year. With the exception of the Spanish market, all the major markets posted growth. Romania improved its performance by 79.3%, the UK by 15.9%, Germany by 13.4, France by 5.0 and Italy by 2.9%.