New commercial vehicle registrations in the first three quarters 2023

In the first three quarters of 2023, new EU van sales increased by 14.3% to 1 million units. This positive result was primarily driven by solid performance in major EU markets, with Spain (+20.5%), Germany (+18.2%), and Italy (+16.7%) recording double-digit growth.

New EU truck registrations saw an even more significant surge, with a 23% increase during the first three quarters, totalling 268,766 units.

Germany led in sales volumes, with 75,241 registered units, a substantial 31.2% increase. Other major EU markets also grew significantly, including Spain (+23.8%), Italy (+17%), France (+15.6%), and Poland (+10.9%).

New EU bus registrations also experienced significant growth during the first three quarters of the year. EU registrations grew by 18.5% year-over-year to 23,645 units. In terms of volume, France led the way with 4,735 units sold, a 9.1% increase. Italy (+65.9%) and Spain (+58.1%) also expanded considerably.

Vans

In the first three quarters of 2023, diesel remained the top choice, accounting for 83% of the market, slightly lower than the 87% share it held in 2022. However, alternative power sources are gaining popularity, resulting in a gradual shift in market share. Electrically chargeable vans’ market share surged to 7.3%, nearly doubling in volume with a 91.4% increase. This growth was primarily fuelled by triple-digit percentage gains in the first and third largest markets: France (+102.2%) and the Netherlands (+136.8%). At the same time, petrol and diesel grew by 39.6% and 9.1% respectively, accounting for 89% of the market.

Trucks

Diesel continued to dominate the truck market, making up 95.5% of new truck registrations from January to September this year. EU diesel truck sales grew by a solid 22%, boosted by growth in major markets: Germany (+29.7%), France (+14%), Poland (+11.9%), and Italy (+17.9%). New electric truck registrations surged by an impressive 321.7%, totalling 3,918 units. Germany (+297.9%) and the Netherlands (+1,463.6%) were the main drivers of this growth, making up 65% of EU electric truck sales.

Electric trucks now represent 1.5% of the market, significant progress from the previous year’s 0.4%.

Buses

In the first three quarters of 2023, new EU electrically chargeable bus sales increased by 31.5%, reaching 3,405 units and capturing a market share of 14.4%, compared to 13% in 2022. Among the EU’s three largest markets, Spain saw remarkable growth at 246.2%, followed by France (+35.8%) and Germany (+26.9%). Hybrid-electric buses sustained momentum with a 156.1% sales increase, more than doubling market share compared to 2022 (up from 5.9% to 12.8%). Substantial growth in France (+477.2%) and Spain (+233.2%), the second and third largest markets, contributed to this result. Despite the growing popularity of electric and hybrid models, diesel buses still maintain the largest market share at 64.7%.

Source: ACEA
Photo: Pixabay/Alexander Lesnitsky, ilustration