In October, new commercial vehicle registrations rose by 12%, continuing an upward trend that started in March, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).
The increase occurred in all segments, except for buses and coaches. Ten months into the year, the EU market of commercial vehicles expanded by 6.6%, mainly lifted by demand for vans. New registrations from January to October totaled 1,453,202 units.
In October, 125,914 new vans were registered in the EU, or 7.4% more than in the same month last year. Looking at the major markets, France (+16.0%), Germany (+16.2%) and the UK (+22.3%) posted a solid increase while the results in Italy (-6.1%) and Spain (-14.9%) were negative.
From January to October, the EU totaled 1,224,023 new van registrations, or 8.5% more than over the same period a year ago. France (+12.5%) remained the largest market, followed by the UK (+18.7%), Germany (+12.9%), Italy (+8.4%) and Spain (+10.6%).
In the segment of heavy trucks, October results in the EU* were 53.7% higher than in October 2009, with 16,628 new vehicles registered. All major markets posted growth, ranging from 27.3% in Italy to 33.2% in the UK, 46.2% in France, 48.5% in Spain and 68.9% in Germany.
Ten months into the year, new heavy truck registrations amounted to 135,792 units, or 1.4% less than in the first ten months of last year. Performance in the main markets was diverse with Germany (+12.4%) and Spain (+17.8%) expanding while Italy (-4.8%), France (-9.9%) and the UK (-17.4%) declined.
In October, registrations of trucks were up 47.7%. The Netherlands (+89.4%), the UK (+79.9%) and Germany (+60.3%) recorded the largest increase among the most significant markets. France (+34.7%), Spain (+28.0%) and Italy (+11.4%) also performed better than in the same month last year. From January to October, the EU market remained stable (-0.6%). Germany (+12.3%) and Spain (+9.0%) posted growth, while Italy (-7.0%), France (-8.2%), the UK (-9.8%) and the Netherlands (-23.7%) saw their markets contract.
The segment of buses and coaches was the only one to decline in October. Despite growth recorded in Italy (+17.3%), Germany (19.4%) and Spain (+84.6%), the negative results in France (-6.0%) and the UK (-37.5%) led to an overall 5.8% decrease in the EU.
Cumulative figures from January to October showed an 11.8% drop. Italy (+20.1%) was the only major market to expand as downturn prevailed elsewhere, ranging from -6.1% in Germany to -12.1% in the UK, -14.2% in Spain and -19.0% in France.