Commercial vehicles: registrations slide 37.2% in first half 2009

With the same number of working days in June 2008 and 2009, no calendar effect occurred. Over the first half of 2009, 883,301 new vehicles were registered or 37.2% less than a year ago when registrations in the first six months came close to 1.5 million units.

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

The June results in Western Europe were down 29.2% with negative performances in all countries. The downturn ranged from -66.7% in Iceland to -15.2% in Switzerland. Looking at the major markets, France performed best, contracting by 18.3%, followed by Italy (-21.3%), Germany (-28.5%), Spain (-33.9%) and the UK (-40.2%). In the new EU Member States, Poland remained the largest markets for vans (-38.7%). Slovakia (-52.0%), the Czech Republic (-79.9%) and Romania (-69.6%) registered an equivalent number of vehicles. The downturn in the new Member States (-60.1%) was considerably more important than in Western Europe, resulting in an overall -32.6% in Europe*. In the first half-year, new van registrations decreased by 36.5% in Europe* and by 35.1% in Western Europe. France (-23.6%), Germany (-28.0%) and Italy (-29.4%) performed similarly while the UK (-45.6%) and Spain (-49.8%) recorded a sharper fall. In the new EU Member States, the decline was -48.3%. Poland (-25.5%) and the Czech Republic (-59.4%) stood out as the biggest markets in the region.

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

 In June, the segment of heavy trucks recorded a 52.4% decline in Europe*. Registrations were down 47.8% in Western Europe, where France performed best (-41.7%) among the largest markets, followed by the UK (-48.6%), Germany (-49.6%), Italy (-51.2%) and Spain (-68.0%). In the new EU Member States, Poland remained the biggest market despite a 72.4% contraction. The region recorded a sharp downturn of 75.2%. In the first half of the year, new registrations of trucks were down 41.3% in Western Europe and 72.6% in the new EU Member States, resulting in an overall drop of 46.4%. France fared the best with a 34.9% decline, followed by Germany (-35.1%) which remained the largest market, Italy (-45.0%), the UK (-47.7%), Poland (-69.2%) and Spain (-75.9%).

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

 New truck registrations amounted to 19,965 units in June, which is 48.3% less than in the same month last year. In Western Europe, the decrease reached 44.2%. Germany (-43.8%) recorded the most trucks (5,167 units) while France fared a little better (-37.9%) and Italy (-46.4%), the UK (-47.2%) and Spain (-63.1%) were affected by a more severe downturn. In the new EU Member States, new truck registrations fell by 70.3%. Six months into the year, the decline was 42.3% in Europe*, 37.7% in Western Europe and 68.0% in the new EU Member States. Of the main markets, France recorded a drop of 31.6%, Germany 32.2%, Italy 39.6%, the UK 40.4% and Spain 71.4%. Poland (-64.0%) and the Czech Republic (-54.6%) also saw their markets contract significantly.

New Buses & Coaches over 3.5t

The segment of buses and coaches fared the best in June. A slightly positive result in Western Europe (+3.3%) was pulled down by the performance in the new EU Member States (-52.4%), resulting in an overall 4.8% decrease in Europe*. Among the major markets, France posted growth (+19.4%) while Spain (-15.6%), Germany (-16.4%), the UK (-19.2%) and Italy (-21.8%) recorded fewer registrations than a year ago. Over the first halfyear, new registrations of buses and coaches fell by 22.2%. All major markets were hit by the downturn, ranging from -4.2% in France to -12.0% in the UK, -12.6% in Germany, -23.8% in Spain and -28.5% in Italy.