Brussels, Belgium: Commercial vehicle registrations fell by 6.2% in the European Union in February, before the economic effects of the coronavirus outbreak became apparent.
Demand decreased in all vehicle segments, apart from buses and coaches. With the exception of France where registration rose 1.6%, all major markets contracted last month: Germany by 7.6%, Spain by 5.9% and Italy 4.0% according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Data for UK truck registrations is no longer collated by the association.
The slow down in new light commercial vehicles up to 3.5t eased slightly from January and registrations of heavy trucks over 16-tonnes in February continued to fall maintaining a trend the downward trend that started last summer. February is the eighth consecutive month of decline in this segment, which is an accurate barometre of overall economic performance, down 19.3%. Results were diverse among the four key EU markets, with Italy posting growth of 10.6% while Germany fell 21.6% and France fell 15.4%.
Over the first two months of the year, 46,295 new trucks were registered in the European Union, down 18.7% compared to the year before. Germany and France recorded the highest losses, (down 20.5% and 13.% respectively) followed by Spain down 8.5% and Italy down 1.2%.
