Brussels, 24 March 2021 – In February 2021, new commercial vehicle registrations in the European Union increased by 1.2% to 156,444 units.

Total new commercial vehicles

In February 2021, new commercial vehicle registrations in the European Union increased by 1.2% to 156,444 units. With the exception of buses and coaches, all vehicle segments made a positive contribution to last month’s growth. Demand was largely driven by the Central European countries (+17.2%), given that registrations in all key Western European markets − except for Italy (+10.1%) − contracted in February.

During the first two months of 2021, the EU commercial vehicle market declined by 3.3%, with 297,651 units registered in total. Among the four key EU markets, Spain recorded the steepest decline (-22.0%), followed by Germany (-9.6%). In France, sales volumes were more or less similar to last year (-0.2%), while Italy was the only major market to post an increase (+1.9%).

New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5t

February sales of new vans in the EU were slightly higher (+0.4%) than in 2019, totalling 130,825 units. Italy was the only major van market to record growth (+11.0%) last month. By contrast, Spain posted the sharpest decline (-17.7%), followed by France (-5.0%) and Germany (-2.3%).

From January to February, registrations of light commercial vehicles fell by 3.6% across the European Union. Looking at the four largest EU markets, Spain (-24.0%) and Germany (-10.4%) faced the steepest drops in demand for new vans. On the other hand, Italy (+1.4%) and France (+0.6%) managed to post modest growth so far in 2021.

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

Last month, 19,630 new heavy commercial vehicles were registered across the EU, a year-on-year rise of 8.8%. Central Europe provided a strong boost to this growth (36.0%), with Poland – one of the leading markets in volume terms – posting a 51.3% increase in heavy-truck registrations. Except for France (-10.2%), the biggest markets in Western Europe also made a sizeable contribution to the region’s positive performance: Italy (+15.8%), Spain (+9.7%) and Germany (+4.2%).

Over the first two months of 2021, registrations of heavy commercial vehicles increased by 2.0% in the European Union. Results were diverse among the four major EU markets, with Italy posting growth (+11.7%) while France performed worse than the year before (-9.0%). At the same time, heavy-trucks registrations in Spain (-0.4%) and Germany (-0.8%) remained stable compared to 2020 levels.

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

In February, demand for new medium and heavy trucks posted solid growth (+6.6%), mainly driven by the solid performance of the Central European markets (+33.1%). Three of the four largest Western European markets also posted positive results:  Italy (+12.3%), Spain (+6.4%) and Germany (+1.2%).

Two months into the year, EU registrations of new trucks remained stable (-0.3%) compared to one year before. Looking at the major markets again, demand contracted in France (-6.5%), Germany (-5.4%) and Spain (-4.1%). Italy, on the other hand, saw a positive uplift in truck sales of 9.9%.

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

February 2021 registrations of buses and coaches in the European Union were 10.0% lower than in the same month last year. Demand fell at double-digit rates in three of the four key markets: Italy (-38.8%), Spain (-22.8%) and Germany (-20.3%). France posted a more modest decline (-2.8%) in demand for new buses and coaches.

From January to February, the European bus and coach market slumped by 18.4%, with 4,584 new vehicles registered in total across the EU. Spain (-46.5%), Germany (-24.2%) and Italy (-20.9%) all recorded significant losses so far in 2021, with France doing slightly better (-8.5%).

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