Commercial vehicles: light trucks carry registrations up 2.4% over January-May

Brussels, 25/06/2010 – In May 143,990 new commercial vehicles were registered in the EU*. That is 7.7% more than in 2009, though 34.6% less than in the same month of 2008. The segment of vans (+9.4%) carried the upturn, while the other vehicle categories posted negative results. Five months into the year, the EU* market expanded by 2.4%**, registering 722,767** new units. A comparison with the pre-crisis period of January to May 2008 shows a drop of 36.3%**.

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

Vans were the only segment to expand in the EU* in May (+9.4%). With the exception of France (-3.5%), all main markets were in the plus, growing from 2.4% in Italy to 15.1% in Germany, 32.7% in the UK and 40.9% in Spain. 121,901 new vans were registered in the month. From January to May, registrations increased by 6.8%**. The five largest markets all posted growth, ranging from 9.6% in France to 10.9% in Germany, 15.3% in the UK, 16.1% in Italy and 24.7% in Spain. 618,582** new vehicles were recorded in total over the five month-period.

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

In May, new heavy trucks registrations stabilised compared to last year (-0.3%), at 12,898 units. While the UK (-2.5%), France (-9.6%), Italy (-11.5%) and the Netherlands (-23.8%) saw their markets shrink, German and Spanish registrations increased by 11.5% and 32.0% respectively. Five months into the year, most markets declined (-22.1%), including major ones such as Germany (-13.2%), the UK (-24.2%), Italy (-24.9%), France (-29.3%) and the Netherlands (-40.6%). Only Spain recorded positive results (+6.7%). A total of 60,508 new heavy trucks were registered over the period.

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

Registrations of new trucks in May slightly decreased (-1.1%) compared to last year with a total of 19,424 units registered. Of all significant markets, Germany (+8.0%) and Spain (+16.6%) were the only ones to post growth. Registrations in the UK (-7.5%), France (-7.7%) and Italy (-11.9%) dropped. From January to May, registrations in Germany (-9.6%), the UK (-19.8%), Italy (-22.8%) and France (-23.7%) were down, as in most markets, resulting in an overall 18.5% downturn. New truck registrations amounted to 90,894 units.

New Buses & Coaches over 3.5t

New bus and coach registrations fell by 2.5% in May, totaling 2,665 units. The UK (-12.0%) registered the most vehicles, followed by France (+16.5%), Germany (-12.8%), Italy (+10.0%) and Spain (-10.4%). Five months into the year, most countries faced a downturn, including the UK (-7.2%), France (-7.6%), Germany (-14.9%) and Spain (-29.1%). Italy performed better than last year, recording 13.1% more vehicles from January to May.