Latest figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, the ACEA, show that commercial vehicle registrations were up 8.1% last month to a total of 158,960 units, despite no variation from the average number of working days.

Apart from Italy, which dropped -12.8%, all the major markets expanded, with Germany up +2.4%, France up +4.3%, Spain up +25.7% and the UK up +27.2%.

However, the YtD picture wasn’t so rosy, with registrations still down 2.7% over the first 10 months of the year, standing at 1,389,244 new registrations. Over the period, France (-5.8%) and Germany (-5.9%) performed similarly, while demand fell more sharply in Italy (-15.7%) and increased in Spain (+4.3%) and the UK (+9.6%).

For the sector of new light commercial vehicles up to 3.5T, the segment posted a 6.8% growth in October to 126,632 new vans, with most major markets expanding, from +1.7% in Germany to +3.6% in France, +26.3% in the UK and +31.8% in Spain. Italy was the only one to face a downturn (-14.3%).

From January to October, the EU van market shrank by 2.4%, compared to the first 10 months of last year, registering 1,131,206 new vehicles. Results were diverse as Spain (+6.7%) and the UK (+11.0%) expanded, while Germany (-5.5%), France (-5.8%) and Italy (-16.0%) saw their demand for new vans decline.

For new heavy commercial vehicles over 16T (excluding buses & coaches), registrations for October amounted to 23,519 units, up 16.5% than in the same month a year ago. Germany (+3.1%), Spain (+5.9%), France (+10.5%) and the UK (+36.2%) contributed positively to the growth. Italy was the only major market to contract (-4.7%).

Ten months into the year, the sector was down 3.6%, with 175,293 new heavy trucks registered. The UK stood out as the only significant market to expand (+9.6%), while downturn prevailed elsewhere, ranging from -6.3% in France to -7.8% in Germany, -8.6% in Spain and -13.2% in Italy.

For new commercial vehicles over 3.5% (excluding buses & coaches), a total of 29,695 new trucks was recorded in October, or 12.9% more than in the same month last year. Demand was sustained by most markets. Only Italy saw its new registrations fall (-7.8%), while results were positive in Germany (+1.7%), Spain (+5.2%), France (+7.9%) and the UK (+31.9%). From January to October, the UK was the only major market to expand (+4.7%). The French and German were down by 7.6%, the Spanish by 8.7% and the Italian by 16.4%, leading overall EU performance to -4.7% with a total of 231,933 new registrations.