Registrations of Commercial vehicles drop 32.4%

In 2009, new commercial vehicle registrations in Europe declined by 32.4% compared to 2008, affecting all segments and all countries. In total, 1,706,996 vehicles were registered throughout the year. December registrations decreased by 10.6%, reflecting a more moderate drop in demand for vans than in the months before.

In total, 1,706,996 vehicles were registered throughout the year. December registrations decreased by 10.6 per cent, reflecting a more moderate drop in demand for vans than in the months before. Demand for vans was down 6.3% in December, amounting to 126,703 units and mainly driven by West European markets (-1.4%).

While Spain (+19.7%) posted growth for the second consecutive month, France (+15.3%) recorded its first positive figure in December and also ended the year in the plus, unlike Italy (-0.8%), the UK (-14.4%) and Germany (-17.3%).
In the new EU Member States, the downturn reached 37.0% in December, ranging from -74.7% in the Czech Republic to -10.6% in Slovenia. Romania (+42.3%) was the only country to post growth. From January to December, new van registrations totaled 1,421,770 units, or 30.3% less than in 2008. The decrease was 27.9% in Western Europe and 49.7% in the new EU Member States, ranging from -18.8% in France to -77.7% in Latvia.

Looking at the major markets, France performed best, followed by Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK. In the new EU Member States, the bad performance of the Czech Republic led Poland to become the largest market in 2009.

The heavy trucks segment fell by 39.4% in December, composed of a 42.6% decrease in Western Europe and 14.2% in the new EU Member States. Except for Poland (+24.9%), the important markets all contracted. The Spanish shrunk by 28.6%, followed by the German (-29.2%), the French (-41.7%), the Italian (-54.4%) and the British (-63.5%).
Over the year, 164,645 new trucks were registered, or 47.9% less than in 2008. Among the largest markets, the Netherlands contracted by 36.2%, France and Germany by 40.7%, the UK by 44.9%, Italy by 50.4%, Poland by 61.2% and Spain by 66.6%.