ACEA: COMMERCIAL VEHICLE registrations: -11.4% over 11 months; -18.5% in November

In November, new commercial vehicle registrations were at their lowest since November 2009, dropping by 18.5% compared to the same month last year. All major markets faced a double-digit downturn ranging from -13.6% in Germany to -16.1% in the UK, -20.7% in France, -25.1% in Spain and -27.5% in Italy. From January to November, the EU* recorded 1,569,390 new commercial vehicles, or 11.4% less than in the same period a year ago. The UK (-4.8%), Germany (-5.2%), France (-9.2%), Spain (-25.2%) and Italy (-32.5%) all saw their markets contract.

New Light Commercial Vehicles up to 3.5t – “vans”

In November, demand for new vans was down 19.5%, amounting to 114,425 units. Only Slovenia (+4.7%), Latvia (+10.6%) and Bulgaria (+17.3%) performed better than last year. Elsewhere downturn prevailed and reached -13.1% in Germany, -16.4% in the UK, -21.6% in France, -25.2% in Spain and -27.3% in Italy. Eleven months into the year, new van registrations decreased by 12.3%, with a total of 1,274,014 units. All major markets shrank, from 4.0% in Germany to 7.4% in the UK, 9.5% in France, 25.7% in Spain and 32.9% in Italy.

New Heavy Commercial Vehicles over 16t (excluding Buses & Coaches) – “heavy trucks”

In November, the segment of heavy trucks fell by 17.0% with 17,277 new registrations in the EU*. All significant markets saw their demand decline: -10.5% in the UK, -16.6% in France, -23.7% in Spain, -23.9% in Germany and -31.3% in Italy. From January to November, results were diverse as the UK posted a 2.1% growth, compared to the same period a year earlier, while the French and German markets contracted by 7.9% and 8.2% respectively. Spain (-18.9%) and Italy (-29.0%) faced a sharper decline. Overall, 199,848 new heavy trucks were registered, or 8.4% less than in the first eleven months of 2011.

New Commercial Vehicles over 3.5t (excluding Buses & Coaches) – “trucks”

New registrations of trucks dropped by 15.3% in November, totaling 23,138 units. All significant markets recorded double-digit contractions. The British market shrank by 12.3%, while the German (-16.6%) and French (-16.8%) performed similarly. Spain (-22.9%) and Italy (-32.2%) were more severely hit by the downturn. From January to November, the UK was the only major market to expand (+6.7%). France (-6.6%), Germany (-8.2%), Spain (-19.9%) and Italy (-29.8%) saw their demand decline sharply, leading to an overall 7.9% decrease of the EU* market. In total, 266,562 new trucks were registered in the region.

New Buses & Coaches over 3.5t

In November, the segment of buses and coaches was the only one to grow (+5.8%) thanks to sustained demand in France (+38.9%) and Germany (+13.1%), which counterbalanced the 32.5% downturn recorded in the UK. Over eleven months, the UK was the largest market and expanded by 33.9%, while France ranked second, despite a 10.3% contraction, followed by Germany, which grew by 2.3%. Italy (-29.1%) and Spain (-37.0%) both saw their demand decline severely. * Data for Malta unavailable