In April this year, new commercial vehicle registrations increased by 9.5 percent across the EU compared to the same month last year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). Looking at new registrations in the major markets in the EU-27 region in April, France (-3.0 percent) and Spain (-14.3 percent) saw a decline, while Germany (+12.2 percent) and the UK (+23.6 percent) indicated an expansion.
In the first four months of the year, a total of 657,707 new vehicles were registered in the EU-27, or up 13.5 percent from the same period a year ago. In terms of volume, France recorded the most new registrations (161,941 units) or 7.7 percent growth, followed by the UK (104,190) and Germany (103,020), which grew by 28.6 percent and 25.5 percent respectively.
All major markets in the EU-27 posted strong growth in the new heavy commercial vehicles market, leading to an overall year-on-year increase of 52.4 percent. From January to April, 78,624 new trucks were registered in the EU-27, or 61.9 percent more than in the same period last year. In the meantime, new registrations of buses and coaches slipped by 0.3 percent year on year in April.