Brussels, 20 December 2019 – In November 2019, commercial vehicle registrations fell again (-8.9%), marking the third consecutive month of decline across the European Union.
Total new commercial vehicles
In November 2019, commercial vehicle registrations fell again (-8.9%), marking the third consecutive month of decline across the European Union. Demand contracted in all vehicle segments and across all major EU markets. Italy saw the strongest drop last month (-11.7%), followed by the UK (-10.7%), France (-7.1%), Germany (-6.1%) and Spain (-2.5%).
Eleven months into the year, demand for new commercial vehicles in the European Union remained positive (+2.2%), thanks to growth earlier in the year. The five largest markets in the region have performed well so far: Germany (+6.7%), France (+4.0%), Italy (+2.6%), the United Kingdom (+2.6%) and Spain (+1.1%).
New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5t
In November, registrations of light commercial vehicles fell by 7.9% across the European Union. The main cause remains the introduction of the new WLTP emissions test on 1 September. As a result, demand for new vans dropped in most EU countries last month, including the five major markets: Italy (-11.6%), the UK (-9.6%), France (-6.1%), Spain (-3.7%) and Germany (-3.3%).
From January to November 2019, the EU market for new vans went up by 2.3% to reach more than 1.9 million vehicles registered, despite the declines posted during the last three months. The five major markets have all posted gains so far this year; notably Germany (+7.4%), Italy (+4.3%) and France (+4.1%).
New heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) of 16t and over
November results showed a significant decrease in new heavy-truck registrations (‐17.6%). With the exception of Spain (+10.8%), all the key EU markets performed worse than one year ago, especially the UK (-24.6%), Germany (-19.3%) and France (-17.5%) – all posting double-digit declines.
So far in 2019, heavy-truck registrations in the EU saw a modest increase (+1.0%) despite the negative results of the segment over the last five months. Growth was supported by four of the five key markets: the United Kingdom (+10.8%), Spain (+3.4%), France (+3.3%) and Germany (+3.2%). However, the Italian heavy-duty market contracted by 7.5% from January to November.
New medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) over 3.5t
Last month, EU demand for trucks went down (-15.3%) for the fifth consecutive month this year. Four of the five largest markets in the region contributed to this decline, with Spain (+7.1%) being the only major market to post growth in November.
Eleven months into 2019, truck registrations in the EU increased by 1.6% to 363,963 units. The United Kingdom (+9.7%), Germany (+5.4%), France (+2.5%) and Spain (+1.6%) performed better than one year ago, while Italy (-7.1%) saw its demand falling over the first eleven months of 2019.
New medium and heavy buses & coaches (MHBC) over 3.5t
Last month, EU demand for buses and coaches declined by 3.4% compared to November 2018. However, the five big markets posted diverse results. The UK and France saw strong growth (+13.3% and +4.3% respectively), while demand in Italy (-31.8%) and Germany (-9.0%) dropped sharply.
From January to November, new bus and coach registrations in the European Union remained slightly positive (+2.0%). Central European countries (+9.3% so far in 2019) contributed largely to this result. Among the largest Western European markets, only France (+4.2%) and Spain (+0.3%) provided a modest boost.