European truck sales down by 30 percent in November

ERJ staff report (DS)

Brussels -- Registrations of new commercial vehicles in Europe are plummeting. New figures from ACEA show that registrations of light trucks, heavy trucks and mid-range trucks fell by around 30 percent in November 2008, compared with November 2007. The one bright spot was buses and coaches, for which registrations increased by about 2 percent.

According to ACEA, registrations of new heavy commercial vehicles decreased in Europe (-28.1 percent), both in Western Europe (-26.3 percent) and in the new EU Member States (-39.8 percent). Germany remained the biggest market with 3,884 units registered. Still, registrations dropped by 34.4 percent.

The cumulative figures eleven months into the year reflect the upturn in the first half of the year and subsequent decline in the second half in the wake of the credit crunch. The Western European market posted a 1.0 percent growth, and the market in the new EU Member States decreased by 13.3 percent, resulting in a 1.3 percent downturn in Europe.

In the van sector, November, demand for new light commercial vehicles decreased by 32.5 percent in Western Europe and 26.6 percent in the new EU Member States, resulting in an overall downturn of 31.8 percent. In absolute numbers 137,703 new vehicles were registered. The downturn affected all markets, and especially Ireland (-60.4 percent) and Spain (-62.6 percent).

Cumulative figures for the van sector from January to November show contrasting results in Western Europe (-10.7 percent) and the new EU Members (+8.3 percent), leading to an overall 9.0 percent downturn. Performance in the main markets was also diverse, with Spain dropping by 37.4 percent, the UK and Italy falling by 14.0 percent and 7.0 percent respectively, while Germany (+1.4 percent) and France (+1.0 percent) still posted some growth eleven months into the year.

In the mid-range truck sector, the November results were similar to the ones noted for heavy trucks, with a 28.2 percent downturn composed of a 25.1 percent fall in Western Europe and a 45.9 percent drop in the new EU Member States. Eleven months into the year, new registrations fell by 3.2 percent in Europe. Demand for new trucks in Western Europe matched last year's result but registrations went down by 19.2 percent in the new EU Member States.

The segment of buses and coaches was the only one to expand in November (+2.2 percent) thanks to the growth recorded in the new EU Member States (+125.8 percent). From January to November, demand for this category of vehicles increased by 13.7 percent.

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Press release from ACEA