Commercial vehicle demand in Europe rebounded after April’s 7.2% decline, with growth of +9.0% in May and +4.6% for the first five months of the year.

All major EU markets performed well, apart from the UK, which posted a decline of -2.6%.

Latest figures from the ACEA show that a total of 204,770 commercial vehicles were registered in May, with growth seen, across all segments, from vans to trucks and buses. All major EU markets performed well, apart from the UK, which posted a decline of -2.6%. Spain and Germany saw the highest percentage gains (+19.3% and +13.2% respectively), followed by the Italian (+9.2%) and French (+7.9%) markets.

Five months into the year, the EU market expanded by 4.6%, counting almost 1 million new commercial vehicles registered. During that period, Spain (+15.5%) posted the strongest results, followed by Italy (+7.8%), France (+7.0%) and Germany (+4.3%). The UK market contracted (-3.8%) over these five months.

For new light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes, May registrations totalled 168,958 units, up 8.4% compared to the same month in 2016. Spain (+21.1%), Germany (+11.6%), Italy (+9.2%) and France (+7.6%) all recorded substantial increases, while the UK saw demand for vans decrease (-5.3%).

From January to May 2017, 821,534 new vans were registered in the EU, up 5.0%. Spain (+18.2%), France (+7.6%), Germany (+5.2%) and Italy (+5.1%) all posted substantial increases, with a downturn only recorded in the UK (-5.0%).

Within the heavy truck segment (over 16 tonnes), registrations were up +13.5% in May, with 26,572 new vehicles registered in the EU. The UK and French markets rose by 22.6% and 15.0% respectively, while demand for heavy trucks fell slightly in Spain (-0.5%).

During the first five months of 2017, the EU market grew by 2.9%, reaching 125,575 heavy trucks registered. All five big markets posted growth during this period, except for Spain (-4.2%). The Italian market posted the strongest upturn – registrations were 28.3% higher than in the same period one year ago.

Truck registrations over 3.5 tonnes rose again after the slowdown observed in April, with 32,560 new trucks, up 12.4% compared to May 2016. The UK (+17.4%), Germany (+16.7%) and France (+14.8%) posted double-digit gains, making a significant contribution to the overall upturn in the region.

From January to May 2017, 154,347 new trucks were registered in the EU, 2.5% more than last year. Just like in the HCV segment, four of the five big markets posted growth, while demand fell in Spain.