Commercial vehicle registrations – Demand for trucks is growing particularly strongly in Central Europe
In September 2022, new commercial vehicle registrations across the EU fell again, marking the fifteenth consecutive monthly decrease.
In September 2022, new commercial vehicle registrations across the EU fell again, marking the fifteenth consecutive monthly decrease. Despite a strong rebound in truck registrations, overall commercial vehicle sales contracted by 6.6% to 133,880 units, dragged down by the negative performance in the van segment. With the exception of Spain (+0.1%), all major markets in the EU faced declines: France (-11.0%), Italy (-10.7%) and Germany (-3.1%).
Over the first three quarters of 2022, EU commercial vehicle sales remained in negative territory (-17.6%), totalling nearly 1.2 million units. The region’s four largest markets all posted negative results, with Spain recording the steepest decline (-23.0%).
New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5t
September’s registrations of new light commercial vehicles in the EU were down by 11.3% to 105,790 units. This negative trend was reflected in the weak performance of the four key markets in the region, which all suffered falls: Italy (-13.5%), France (-12.3%), Germany (‑7.2%) and Spain (-3.5%).
Nine months into 2022, EU new van registrations contracted by 21.2% compared to the same period one year ago. With the exception of Cyprus (+6.4%) and Slovakia (+0.2%), all the EU markets posted declines, including the four major ones: Spain (-27.7%), France (‑22.4%), Germany (-18.9%) and Italy (-12.4%).
New heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) of 16t and over
September’s registrations of new heavy trucks across the EU were strong, with the segment improving by 21.0%, as all the markets in the region – except for Portugal (-35.7%) – posted solid gains. Central European countries in particular provided a strong boost to last month’s growth, even recording triple-digit percentage gains in Croatia (+173.5%) and Lithuania (+154.2%).
From January to September 2022, new heavy truck registrations increased by 4.6% to reach 188,067 units sold in the European Union. The two consecutive positive results in August and September helped to improve the year-to-date performance. As a result, three of the four EU key markets performed better than one year ago, with only Germany recording a slight decline (-0.8%).
New medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) over 3.5t
New medium and heavy truck registrations in the EU increased by 18.3% in September. With the exception of Portugal (-32.6%), all the region’s markets positively contributed to the overall growth, including the four major ones: Spain (+22.8%), Germany (+11.9%), France (+3.0%) and Italy (+3.0%).
Nine months into the year, new trucks sold across the European Union grew by 1.5%, as the gains recorded in the last two months brought the cumulative result into positive territory. Central European countries largely contributed to this positive performance (+9.6%). On the other hand, among the four major Western European markets only Spain recorded growth (+10.3%).
New medium and heavy buses & coaches (MHBC) over 3.5t
In September 2022, EU registrations of new buses and coaches remained flat (-0.1%) with 2,370 units sold. The region’s four largest markets recorded mixed results. France posted the sharpest decline (-19.6%), followed by Germany (-5.4%). Italy, on the other hand, saw a significant increase (+32.0%).
So far in 2022, new bus registrations fell by 4.8% to 20,457 units. Among the EU’s four major markets, Spain was the only one to post growth (+29.3%). By contrast, Germany (‑22.5%), France (-14.9%) and Italy (-9.4%) all suffered significant declines.
