EU truck registrations fall in year to May

ERJ staff report (DS)

Brussels -- In May, new commercial vehicle registrations in the EU continued the downward trend commenced in January, according to new data from ACEA, the federation of European vehicle makers.

ACEA said the market is now facing the sharpest decrease since 2009 (-17.8 percent, compared to May 2011). The UK was the only market to post growth in the month (+10.0 percent), while Germany (-13.6 percent), France (-22.1 percent), Spain (-27.4 percent) and Italy (-42.4 percent) all recorded double-digit downturns.

In May, the EU* recorded 118,477 new vans, or 19.0 percent less than in May last year. Looking at the major markets, the UK was the only one to expand (+6.7 percent), while Germany (-13.9 percent), France (-22.7 percent), Spain (-26.4 percent) and Italy (-41.9 percent) all contracted.

Five months into the year, downturn prevailed across markets, ranging from -3.6 percent in Germany to -9.0 percent in France, -11.7 percent in the UK, -24.3 percent in Spain and -38.7 percent in Italy. In total, new van registrations were down 13.3 percent, amounting to 597,740 units.

In May, demand for heavy trucks fell by 14.2 percent, as 18,562 new units were registered in the EU*. The UK performed better than in the same month last year (+15.8 percent), while the other major markets registered fewer new trucks: -13.8 percent in Germany, -14.4 percent in France, -36.1 percent in Spain and -41.8 percent in Italy.

From January to May, the EU* totaled 93,757 new heavy trucks, or 6.3 percent less than in the same period last year. Germany (-4.1 percent) and France (-4.3 percent) performed similarly, while Spain (-23.2 percent) and Italy (-27.9 percent) posted double-digit downturns. The UK saw its demand increase by 14.9 percent.

The segment of trucks grew by 13.4 percent in May, totaling 25,034 units. Results were negative in Germany (-12.9 percent), France (-14.4 percent), Spain (-35.2 percent) and Italy (-43.9 percent), while the British market expanded by 20.8 percent.

From January to May, new truck registrations were down 5.7 percent in the EU*. Among the major markets, the British was the only one to post growth (+24.6 percent), while the French (-3.2 percent), German (-5.4 percent), Spanish (-24.2 percent) and Italian (-31.9 percent) all contracted. In total, 125,145 new trucks were registered.

In May, new bus and coach registrations were down 3.5 percent, despite the good performance of the British market (+109 percent), which remained the largest.

From January to May, the positive results in the UK (+61.1 percent) and Germany (+2.6 percent), the two largest markets, counterbalanced the downturn recorded in France (-18.9 percent), Italy (-30.9 percent) and Spain (-42.5 percent), leading to an overall 3.1 percent increase of the EU* market.

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Press release from ACEA