In April, EU commercial vehicle registrations dropped 7.2% and totaled 181,434 units, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).
This is mainly due to the fact that Easter fell in April this year.
Demand declined in all segments, apart from buses and coaches, and across all major EU markets. The United Kingdom (-14.9%) and Germany (-11.8%) saw the highest drops, while the Spanish (-1.0%) and French (-0.4%) markets remained more or less stable.
During the first four months of the year, the EU market expanded by 3.8% – despite last month’s negative results – counting 788,181 new commercial vehicles registered. Over the same period, Spain (+14.5%) and Italy (+8.2%) posted the strongest increases, followed by France (+6.7%) and Germany (+2.0%). The UK market declined slightly (-3.1%) during these four months.
New heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) over 16 tonnes
April 2017 results show a downturn in the heavy truck segment (-9.9%), with 24,096 new vehicles registered. Most of the EU’s major markets performed less well than in April 2016, especially Spain (-25.8%) and Germany (-20.2%). However, the Italian (+12.8%) and UK (+11.0%) markets did very well in April.
Four months into the year, the EU market grew only modestly (+1.1%), reaching 99,741 units. Italy (+35.5%), the UK (+6.0%) and France (+2.4%) posted growth during the period, while Germany (-2.5%) and Spain (-5.0%) saw their demand for heavy trucks decrease.
New medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) over 3.5 tonnes
In April 2017, truck registrations were similar to those in the heavy truck segment, with Italy and the UK posting growth (both +9.2%) and new truck registrations declining in Spain (-25.1%), Germany (-16.7%) and France (-5.9%). Overall, 29,720 new trucks were registered in the EU, down 9.8% compared to April 2016.
From January to April 2017, 121,840 new trucks were registered in the European Union, 1.1% more than last year. Just like the HCV segment, three of the five big markets posted growth while demand fell in Spain and Germany.
New medium and heavy buses & coaches (MHBC) over 3.5 tonnes
In April 2017, 3,529 new buses and coaches were registered across the region, up 5.0%. Demand fell in France (‐14.7%), but Spain (+70.0%), Italy (+6.4%), the UK (+5.6%) and Germany (+3.2%) all posted growth.
In the first four months of 2017, the EU bus and coach market grew by 6.3%, counting 13,316 vehicles registered. Demand only decreased in France (-17.2%), while new bus and coach registrations in Italy (+43.3%), Spain (+13.4%), Germany (+10.0%) and the UK (+9.8%) went up.
New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5 tonnes
In April 2017, new registrations of light commercial vehicles totaled 148,185 units, or 7.0% less than in the same month last year. The UK (-18.8%), Germany (-10.2%) and Italy (-7.9%) all recorded substantial declines, while the Spanish (+1.1%) and French (+0.5%) markets saw modest growth.
From January to April 2017, 653,025 new vans were registered in the EU, up 4.3% compared to the same period in 2016. The United Kingdom (-4.9%) was the only major market where demand fell; Spain (+17.3%), France (+7.6%), Italy (+4.8%) and Germany (+3.6%) all saw their demand for vans increase.