In March this year, 8.8 percent more new commercial vehicles were registered in the EU, compared to the same month of the previous year, marking the first year-on-year increase in almost two years, according to the report released by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) on April 27.
The segment of light commercial vehicles posted growth, whereas heavy duty vehicle registrations were still down. Compared with the pre-crisis situation of March 2008, new registrations decreased by 27.3 percent, an illustration that the sector still operates under difficult economic circumstances in the EU. In total, new registrations reached 186,469 units in March this year.
On the other hand, in the first quarter of 2010, new registrations decreased by 1.3 percent compared to the same period of 2009, amounting to 431,454 units.
New commercial vehicle registrations in major European markets in March and in the first quarter of 2010 are as follows:
