Commercial vehicle registrations in the first quarter of 2022

Date: 
May 7, 2022

 

In March 2022, EU commercial vehicle registrations continued their downward trend, retreating for the ninth consecutive month (-24.9%).

 

Total new commercial vehicles

In March 2022, EU commercial vehicle registrations continued their downward trend, retreating for the ninth consecutive month (-24.9%). With the exception of Romania and Cyprus (+11.2% and +1.6% respectively), all EU markets posted declines, including the four major ones. Spain saw the sharpest fall (-41.2%), followed by France (-25.9%), Germany (‑19.6%) and Italy (-9.7%).

 

Commercial vehicle registrations: -18.1% in the first quarter of 2022

During the first quarter of 2022, new commercial vehicle registrations in the EU shrank by 18.1%, totalling 411,097 units. March results dragged down the quarterly performance more than the results recorded during the first two months of the year. All the four key EU markets contributed to the region’s negative performance: Spain (-30.3%), France (-21.9%), Germany (-11.6%) and Italy (-4.8%).

 

New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5t

In March, EU registrations of new vans slumped by 28.7%, reaching 122,818 units sold, as all markets posted declines. The four largest markets in the EU all posted double-digit losses: Spain (-46.5%), France (-28.6%), Germany (-22.2%) and Italy (-10.7%).

From January to March, EU light commercial vehicle sales dropped by -21.3% compared to the same period last year, totalling 329,606 units. The four major markets in the region all recorded declines: Spain (-35.7%), France (-24.2%), Germany (‑13.6%) and Italy (-5.3%).

 

New heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) of 16t and over

March sales of heavy trucks in the EU slid back by 4.6%, counting 24,088 units. The four major markets in Western Europe recorded mixed results. Germany and Spain recorded declines (-9.2% and -5.8% respectively), whereas Italy and France posted modest growth (+1.9% and +1.6% respectively). 

Three months into the year, new heavy commercial vehicle registrations in the EU recorded a modest increase (+0.6%), reaching 64,336 units, thanks to growth during the first two months of 2022. With the exception of Germany (-1.0%), all major markets in Western Europe contributed to the positive cumulative performance in the region: Spain (+4.5%), France (+3.1%) and Italy (+0.8%).

 

New medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) over 3.5t

Last month, 28,333 new medium and heavy commercial vehicles were registered in EU, a decrease of 6.6% compared to last year. Looking at the four key markets in the region, only Italy posted growth (+0.9%). Germany posted the steepest decline (-11.6%), followed by Spain (-4.8%) and France (-1.9%).

Over the first three months of the year, sales of new trucks in the European Union slipped back by 2.0%, reaching nearly 75,000 units. The performance of the four biggest markets in the region varied. Germany and France recorded declines (-5.2% and -1.0% respectively), whilst Spain and Italy witnessed modest growth (+2.9% and +0.4% respectively).

 

New medium and heavy buses & coaches (MHBC) over 3.5t

In March 2022, registrations of new buses jumped by 21.6%, reaching 2,402 units. This increase was mainly due to triple-digit gains in several EU markets. Among the four key markets in the region, Spain saw triple-digit growth (+167.7%), followed by France (+15.8%). Italy, on the other hand, recorded a double-digit loss (-29.2%), and Germany also declined (‑8.8%).

From January to March, new bus and coach registrations across the EU posted a slight decline (-0.2%), despite the substantial increase in March. With the exception of Spain (+52.8%), all major markets in the EU recorded losses: Italy (-15.7%), Germany (-10.1%) and France (-2.8%).

 

Source: acea.auto