Brussels, Belgium: European truck and van registrations slumped by 67% in April providing statistical demonstration of the effect of the coronavirus.
The fallout of the Covid‐19 pandemic affected all 27 EU markets and every vehicle segment. Spain was down 87.8%, Italy by 85.5% and France by 82.4%, according to data from the NAtional Automobile Manufacturers Associations.
Four months into the year, EU demand for new commercial vehicles contracted by 34.5%. The data excludes the UK.
Demand for new vans in April fell by 69.6% to 46,264 units – a third of the number sold in April 2019. From January to April, van demand in the European Union contracted by 35.1%. Light commercial vehicle registrations nearly halved in Spain (49.1%), Italy (44.5%) and France (42.2%). Among the largest markets, Germany saw the least severe drop, down 21.2% so far this year.
New heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) of 16t and over3 During the fourth month of 2020, new heavy truck registrations fell by 58.5%, marking the tenth consecutive month of decline in the EU. The Central European countries were severely hit (‐71.2%) by lockdown measures last month – including Poland (‐71.7%), which traditionally is one of the leading markets for this vehicle type in the region. Looking at the major Western European markets, France recorded the biggest contraction (‐72.3%) in April.
So far in 2020, 64,456 heavy trucks were registered across the European Union, or 35.4% less than the year before. Demand declined by 39.8% in France, followed by Germany (‐30.8%), Italy (‐25.7%) and Spain (‐23.6%).
New medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) over 3.5t4 In April 2020, EU registrations of medium and heavy commercial vehicles showed a trend similar to that of the heavy‐truck segment. Demand for trucks shrank by 54.8% compared to April 2019, counting 14,112 units in total. With the exception of Greece, each of the 27 EU markets posted significant losses last month: France (‐72.5%), Italy (‐61.7%), Spain (‐49.9%) and Germany (‐39.3%).
Four months into 2020, the European Union counted 79,954 registrations of new trucks, or 33.0% less than last year. France (‐39.2%) saw the biggest percentage drop, followed by Germany (‐27.3%), Italy (‐26.0%) and Spain (‐22.7%).
