European truck registrations slide 37% in first half

ERJ staff report (DS)

Brussels -- New registrations of commercial vehicles have been declining for fourteen consecutive months now in Europe, recording a 34.8 percent low in June, according to new figures from ACEA. Over the first half of 2009, 883,301 new vehicles were registered or 37.2 percent less than a year ago when registrations in the first six months came close to 1.5 million units.

The June results for light trucks (under 3.5 tonnes) in Western Europe were down 29.2% with negative performances in all countries. The downturn ranged from -66.7% in Iceland to -15.2 percent in Switzerland. In the first half-year, new van registrations decreased by 36.5% in Europe* and by 35.1 percent in Western Europe. France (-23.6 percent), Germany (-28.0 percent) and Italy (-29.4 percent) performed similarly while the UK (-45.6 percent) and Spain (-49.8 percent) recorded a sharper fall.

In the heavy commercial vehicle sector (over 16t), the June figures show a 52.4 percent decline in Europe. Registrations were down 47.8 percent in Western Europe, where France performed best (-41.7 percent) among the largest markets, followed by the UK (-48.6 percent), Germany (-49.6%), Italy (-51.2 percent) and Spain (-68.0 percent). In the new EU Member States, Poland remained the biggest market despite a 72.4 percent contraction. In the first half of the year, new registrations of trucks were down 41.3 percent in Western Europe and 72.6 percent in the new EU Member States, resulting in an overall drop of 46.4 percent. France fared the best with a 34.9 percent decline.

In the mid-range sector (between 3.5 t and 12t), new truck registrations amounted to 19,965 units in June, which is 48.3% less than in the same month last year. In Western Europe, the decrease reached 44.2 percent. Germany (-43.8 percent) recorded the most trucks (5,167 units) while France fared a little better (-37.9 percent) and Italy (-46.4 percent), the UK (-47.2 percent) and Spain (-63.1 percent) were affected by a more severe downturn. Six months into the year, the decline was 42.3 percent in Europe, 37.7 percent in Western Europe and 68.0 percent in the new EU Member States.

The segment of buses and coaches fared the best in June. A slightly positive result in Western Europe (+3.3 percent) was pulled down by the performance in the new EU Member States (-52.4 percent), resulting in an overall 4.8 percent decrease in Europe. Over the first halfyear, new registrations of buses and coaches fell by 22.2 percent. All major markets were hit by the downturn, ranging from -4.2 percent in France to -12.0 percent in the UK, -12.6 percent in Germany, -23.8 percent in Spain and -28.5 percent in Italy.

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Press release from ACEA