New commercial vehicle registrations across the EU in February this year amounted to 126,010 units, decreasing by 11.3 percent compared to the same month last year and down 10.7 percent January this year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). In February this year, which counted on average one more working day across the EU than February last year, looking at new registrations all of the major markets in the EU-27 region saw decreases, with a fall of 3.2 percent in France, 6.9 percent in Germany, 16.6 percent in the UK, 24.4 percent in Spain and 29.8 percent in Italy - all year on year.
In the January-February period of this year, a total of 267,111 new commercial vehicles were registered in the EU-27, or down 7.9 percent from the same period a year ago. Looking at new registrations in the major markets in the EU-27 region in the first two months of the year, the markets in Germany (-1.9 percent) and France (-2.5 percent) contracted slightly on year-on-year basis, while the UK (-11.5 percent), Spain (-22.9 percent) and Italy (-30.5 percent) faced double-digit downturns.
All markets in the EU-27 recorded negative results in the new heavy commercial vehicles market in February this year, leading to an overall year-on-year decrease of 9.8 percent. In the January-February period, new heavy commercial vehicle registrations in the EU declined by 2.5 percent compared to January-February 2011. In February this year, 20,312 new trucks were registered in the EU-27, or 8.2 percent more than in the same period last year. Over the first two months, the EU registered a 1.8 percent drop in registrations of new trucks compared to the same period last year. In the meantime, new registrations of buses and coaches were up by 2.5 percent year on year in February, but fell by 1.2 percent in the first two months.