New commercial vehicle demand across the European Union (EU) in February this year was down for the 14th consecutive month, with a year-on-year decrease of 13.3 percent, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). New commercial vehicle registrations in the EU in February totaled 109,331 units, as a downturn prevailed across the major markets, with decreases of 12.3 percent in France, 14.4 percent in Germany, 19.5 percent in Spain and 31.3 percent in Italy, all year on year. The UK, thanks to positive results in the van segment, was the only market to post year-on-year growth in February, up 4.2 percent.
In the first two months of this year, a total of 235,459 new commercial vehicles were registered in the EU-27, or down 11.9 percent from the same period a year ago. Looking at new registrations in the major markets in the EU-27 region in the first two months of the year, the UK market expanded by 4.9 percent, while the French market remained the largest market, despite an 11.1 percent year-on-year contraction, followed by Germany (-15 percent) and Spain (-17.6 percent). Italy (-27.3 percent) recorded a more severe year-on-year drop.
In the January-February period of the current year, new heavy commercial vehicle registrations in the EU declined by 15.7 percent to 28,851 units, compared to January-February 2012. In the period in question, the EU registered a 15.4 percent year-on-year drop in registrations of new trucks to 37,950. In the meantime, new bus and coach registrations rose by 0.5 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, amounting to 4,424 vehicles, mainly driven by Spain and France which saw respective expansions of 14 percent and 15.1 percent year on year. The UK, which was the largest market in the period in question, recorded the biggest year-on-year decline among the major markets with a 13.5 percent decrease.
