European truck markets stabilise

ERJ staff report (DS)

Brussels -- In May 143,990 new commercial vehicles were registered in the EU, according to new data from ACEA, the European federation of vehicle makers. That is 7.7 percent more than in 2009, though 34.6 percent less than in the same month of 2008.

The segment of vans (+9.4 percent) carried the upturn, while the other vehicle categories posted negative results. Five months into the year, the EU market expanded by 5.0 percent, registering 740,908 new units. A comparison with the pre-crisis period of January to May 2008 shows a drop of 34.7 percent.

In May, new heavy trucks registrations stabilised compared to last year (-0.3 percent), at 12,898 units. Five months into the year, most markets declined (-22.1 percent), including major ones such as Germany (-13.2 percent), the UK (-24.2 percent), Italy (-24.9 percent), France (-29.3 percent) and the Netherlands (-40.6 percent).

Registrations of new mid-sized trucks in May slightly decreased (-1.1 percent) compared to last year with a total of 19,424 units registered. From January to May, registrations in Germany (-9.6 percent), the UK (-19.8 percent), Italy (-22.8 percent) and France (-23.7 percent) were down, as in most markets, resulting in an overall 18.5 percent downturn. New truck registrations amounted to 90,894 units.

Vans were the only segment to expand in the EU* in May (+9.4 percent). With the exception of France (-3.5 percent), all main markets were in the plus, growing from 2.4 percent in Italy to 15.1 percent in Germany, 32.7 percent in the UK and 40.9 percent in Spain. From January to May, registrations increased by 10.0 percent. The five largest markets all posted growth, ranging from 9.6 percent in France to 10.9 percent in Germany, 15.3 percent in the UK, 16.1 percent in Italy and 24.7 percent in Spain. 636,723 new vehicles were recorded in total over the five month-period.

New bus and coach registrations fell by 2.5 percent in May, totaling 2,665 units. Five months into the year, most countries faced a downturn, including the UK (-7.2 percent), France (-7.6 percent), Germany (-14.9 percent) and Spain (-29.1 percent). Italy performed better than last year, recording 13.1 percent more vehicles from January to May.

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Press release from source