In May, new vehicle registrations increased by 10.8% with a total of 151,484 units, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
The truck segment slightly declined, while registrations of vans, as well as of buses and coaches increased. The French market remained stable (-0.1%), while all other significant ones recorded double-digit growths ranging from 12.0% in the UK to 13.5% in Italy, 16.1% in Germany and 41.6% in Spain. From January to May, results in France slipped by 0.3%, while the UK (+8.0%) and Germany (+8.7%) performed similarly. Italy (+14.6%) and Spain (+42.9%) saw their markets considerably expand. Overall, new registrations in the EU increased by 9.1% compared to the first five months of 2013. In total, the region counted 746,678 new vehicles.
New Heavy Commercial Vehicles over 16t (excluding buses and coaches) – 'heavy trucks'
The segment of heavy trucks slipped by 0.2% in May, with a total of 17,191 new registrations. Results were contrasted in the EU, as Italy (-3.5%), the UK (-17.6%) and France (-30.2%) saw their markets shrink, while Germany (+22.4%) and Spain (+32.9%) posted growth. From January to May, France (-4.8%) and the UK (-28.1%) faced a downturn, which was counterbalanced by growth in Germany (+19.1%), Italy (+19.8%) and Spain (+41.9%), leading to an overall 7.2% increase of the EU market. In total, 87,822 vehicles were registered.
New Commercial Vehicles over 3.5t (excluding buses and coaches) – 'trucks'
May results showed a 3.6% decrease in new truck registrations, totalling 22,258 units. Looking at the major markets, Italy (-3.0%), the UK (-23.8%) and France (-30.3%) saw their market decline, while demand was up in Germany (+13.0) and Spain (+15.9%). Five months into the year, the truck segment expanded by 2.9%. Italy (+6.0%), Germany (+11.0) and Spain (+36.8%) positively contributed to the upturn. France (-6.8%) and the UK (-27.6%) fared less well. Overall, the EU counted 112,624 new trucks.
New buses and coaches over 3.5t
In May, demand for new buses and coaches increased by 12.4%, totalling 2,770 units. Most major markets posted growth, like Spain (+4.8%), Germany (+21.1%) and Italy (+30.8%). From January to May, Spain and Italy performed similarly (-1.9%), while growth in other significant markets (+1.2% in France, +4.6% in the UK, +11.1% in Germany) led to an overall 7.0% upturn in the whole region. In total, 13,103 new buses and coaches were registered in the first five months of the year.
New Light Commercial Vehicles up to 3.5t – 'vans'
In May, demand for vans was up 13.8% in the EU which counted 126,456 new registrations. All major markets expanded, from 3.9% in France to 15.3% in Italy, 17.3% in Germany, 18.4% in the UK and 45.1% in Spain. Five months into the year, a total of 620,951 new vans was registered, or 10.4% more than in the same period a year earlier. Results were contrasted across markets as the French remained stable (+0.4%), the German grew by 7.7% and the UK (+13.3%) and Italy (+16.1%) also performed better than last year. Spain recorded a considerable 44.7% growth.