Commercial vehicle registrations across the EU continued to grow in November despite a downturn in pace.

Commercial vehicle registrations across the EU continued to grow in November

Figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) show registrations in November rose 2.5%, mainly driven by the light commercial vehicle and the heavy truck segments. Among the five big markets, Spain (+15.3%), France (+9.2%) and Germany (+6.1%) performed very well, while the UK (-11.8%) and the Italian (-10.0%) markets had weaker results compared to November last year.

For the first 11 months of the year, almost 2.2 million new vehicles were registered – up 3.9% compared to the same period in 2016. Spain continued to drive growth (+15.1%), followed by France (+7.8%) and Germany (+3.6%). On the other hand, UK demand fell (-4.6%) over this period.

Within the LCV sector up to 3.5 tonnes, November figures were up 3.3% in 2017, although results were varied. Spain (+18.4%), Germany (+8.5%) and France (+6.2%) were up while demand contracted in both the UK (-11.1%) and Italy (-9.4%).

For the first 11 months of 2017, more than 1.8 million new vans were registered across the European Union, up 4.6% compared to the same period in 2016. Spain (+17.4%), France (+8.3%) and Germany (+5.2%) maintained momentum, while demand for light commercial vehicles declined in the UK (-4.1%) and Italy (-0.7%).

For new medium and heavy commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, November 2017 registrations remained stable, totalling 32,787 new units. Truck demand declined in the United Kingdom (-14.0%) and Italy (-13.5%), while it increased in Germany (+6.3%).

The YtD performance also remained stable with 337,827 new trucks registered in the EU – up +0.3%. Italy (+7.5%) and France (+6.5%) fared well but truck registrations decreased in the UK and Germany (-5.6% and -0.5% respectively).

Looking at heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) of 16 tonnes and over, November registrations grew by 2.2% compared to the same month in 2016, with 26,727 units registered. Results were diverse across the five big EU markets, with registrations falling in the UK (-18.3%), Italy (-4.1%) and Spain (-1.0%), while demand strongly increased in Germany (+16.2%) and France (+14.3%).

Registrations were up +1.1% for the first 11 months of the year to 273,839 new vehicle registrations. The Italian market saw the strongest gains (+11.4%), followed by France (+6.8%). Demand for heavy commercial vehicles remained relatively stable in Spain (-0.2%) and declined in the UK (-6.0%).