EU commercial vehicle registrations recorded their highest January volume ever last month.

LCV registrations across the EU increased by 6.1% in January

The figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) show that total registrations increased 6.2% last month, from 188,102 to 199,853 units. Growth was sustained across all commercial vehicle segments and in all key EU markets except Italy (-1.3%). Germany (+15.8%) recorded the highest gains last month, followed by the UK (+9.7%), France (+8.4%) and Spain (+8.3%).

Within the market for new light commercial vehicles (LCVs) up to 3.5t, registrations across the EU increased by 6.1% in January. Vans made up almost 82% of all commercial vehicles registered last month, thereby making a significant contribution to overall growth. Among the major EU markets, Germany (+13.2%), France (+9.1%), the United Kingdom (+8.6%) and Spain (+7.9%) all performed very well, while demand in Italy (+0.4%) remained similar to January 2018 levels.

For new heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) of 16t and over, the January 2019 results showed a strong uplift (+7.4%), with 27,948 units registered in the European Union. Except for Italy (-10.2%) all major markets posted robust growth in the first month of the year; with the UK (+31.1%), Germany (+26.9%) and Spain (+12.2%) recording double-digit increases.

EU new truck registrations also started the year positively, going up by 7.1% compared to one year ago. Looking at the five biggest EU markets, the United Kingdom (+24.9%) and Germany (+23.4%) saw the strongest growth, while demand for trucks fell in Italy (-10.2%).

And January 2019 registrations of buses and coaches were 6.1% higher than in the same month one year ago. France and Germany, the segment’s key markets, provided a crucial boost to EU demand (up 32.8% and 12.0% respectively). By contrast, UK (-42.4%), Spanish (-3.6%) and Italian (-1.7%) demand for new buses and coaches contracted in January of this year.