In December, new commercial vehicle registrations grew by 34.7%, totaling 169,744 units. Growth was sustained across all segments. All major markets recorded positive results ranging from +16.6% in France to +16.8% in Italy, +27.0% in Germany, +52.9% in Spain and +66.0% in the UK. From January to December, demand for new commercial vehicles was up 1.0%, reaching 1,711,843 units. Despite the increase, this was the third lowest level since the start of the series in 1997 in absolute figures. Spain (+9.7%) and the UK (+14.5%) positively contributed to the upturn, while Germany (-2.0%), France (-3.7%) and Italy (-11.7%) performed less well than in 2012.
New Light Commercial Vehicles up to 3.5t – “vans”
In December, the segment of vans grew 18.2% to 122,263 units, boosted by all major markets. The German expanded by 7.2%, the Italian 9.2%, the French 11.7%, the UK 32.5% and the Spanish 45.3%. Over twelve months, 1,374,518 new vans were registered in the EU*, or 0.2% less than a year earlier. Germany (-3.1%), France (-4.3%) and Italy (-12.5%) saw their market contract, while Spain (+11.1%) and the UK (+13.1%) posted growth.
New Heavy Commercial Vehicles over 16t (excluding Buses & Coaches) – “heavy trucks”
December results showed a 135.9% increase in new heavy truck registrations, due to the expected implementation of the Euro VI standards in January 2014. In total, 33,573 new vehicles were registered in the month. The UK was the largest market (8,125 units), followed by Germany (6,269 units), France (4,454 units), the Netherlands (2,817 units), Poland (2,282 units), Spain (1,274 units) and Italy (1,272 units). From January to December, the EU registered 231,662 new heavy trucks, or 8.6% more than in 2012. The German (+0.2%) and French (+0.4%) markets remained quite stable, while the Italian shrank by 3.0%. The Spanish (+4.9%), Dutch (+12.5%), Polish (+19.1%) and UK (+31.1%) all posted growth.
New Commercial Vehicles over 3.5t (excluding Buses & Coaches) – “trucks”
The anticipation effect of the entry into force of the Euro VI standards led to a 124.2% rise in new truck registrations in December. 43,274 new vehicles were recorded across the EU*, most of which in the UK (11,050 units). Germany ranked second (9,949 units), followed by France (5,130 units). The Netherlands registered 3,183 new trucks and Poland 2,958, while Italy (1,498 units) and Spain (1,483 units) were on par. In 2013, new truck registrations amounted to 304,333 units, or 6.5% more than in the previous year. Germany (-0.2%), France
(-1.6%) and Italy (-8.3%) faced a downturn, while growth prevailed in Spain (+2.4%), the Netherlands (+13.9%), Poland (+20.0%) and the UK (+25.2%).
New Buses & Coaches over 3.5t
In December, demand for new buses and coaches reached 4,207 units, rising by 28.7%. Germany (+54.4%) remained the largest market, followed by France (+88.7%) and the UK (+60.6%). From January to December, the UK was the only major market to contract (-3.9%), while growth in Spain (+0.4%), Italy (+11.5%), Germany (+13.3%) and France (+14.9%) led to an overall 2.8% upturn of the EU* market. Throughout the year, a total of 32,992 new buses and coaches were registered in the region.
