Registrations of new commercial vehicles in the EU dropped 13.7% year-on-year in September to 150,910 units. This figure compared with a total of 174,946 CVs registered in September 2011.
The 13.7% decline last month follows year-on-year declines of -5.8% in June, -5.1% in July and -12.4% in August this year. Registrations in September were, however, significantly higher than the 102,877 units accounted for in August this year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
“Downturn prevailed across markets, ranging from -3.2% in Ireland to -51.2% in Greece. Looking at the largest markets, the UK was the only one to expand (+0.7%) while France (-13.4%), Germany (-16.6%), Italy (-28.2%) and Spain (-32.7%) all contracted,” the association stated.
The light commercial vehicle segment, comprising vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes, fell by 13.5% in September, from 143,313 units to 123,938 units. Only Slovakia (+9.5%) and the UK (+1.1%) managed growth in September. Among the major markets, France (-12.4%), Germany (-14.6%), Italy (-27.6%) and Spain (-34.3%) all recorded double-digit declines.
The trucks segment reported the largest year-on-year decline in September, with numbers down 15.7% from 28,718 units to 24,217. This segment comprises medium and heavy CVs over 3.5 tonnes. With regard to the major EU markets, the UK (-7.3%), France (-19.7%), Germany (-20.4%), Spain (-30.6%) and Italy (-34.1%) all contracted compared with September 2011.
Heavy trucks of 16 tonnes and over saw all significant markets slide, from -6.7% in the UK to -18.6% in France, -22.9% in Germany, -28.6% in Spain, and -33.8% in Italy. Overall, this segment accounted for registrations of 18,529 vehicles, 14.8% lower than the 21,748 units registered in September 2011.
A total of 2,755 medium and heavy buses and coaches over 3.5 tonnes were registered in the EU last month, translating into a drop of 5.5% compared with the 2,915 such vehicles registered in the corresponding month last year. “While the UK (+43.3%) and Spain (+5.3%) performed better than in the same month last year, France (-22.7%), Germany (-26.3%) and Italy (-26.6%) experienced a double-digit downturn,” the ACEA stated.
With last month’s decline, CV registrations in the first three quarters of this year fell by 10.7%. A total of 1,282,248 CVs were registered in the EU during this period, compared with 1,436,488 units in the January-September 2011 period.
