According to the report published by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), the EU market for new commercial vehicles recorded a rise in January of this year. The Eastern European markets posted the biggest gains and recorded the best January for LCV registrations in a decade.
Registrations of commercial vehicles in EU increased by 7.9% in the first month of the year with registrations totaling 187,811 units.
The EU’s five largest markets all posted gains in January, except for the United Kingdom, where registrations fell by 5.8%. Italy (+15.5%) and Spain (+15.2%) recorded the highest growth rates, followed by Germany (+9.2%) and France (+6.2%)” – reads the ACEA report.
New commercial vehicles registrations in EU
Source: ACEA
New light commercial vehicles (LCV) registrations
The report is a breath of fresh air especially for the Western European market, which has been showing a decline in registrations on a year-to-year basis. On the other hand, the Easter European markets are showing a constant improvement with 13,266 vans registered in January 2018 representing a 25% year-on-year increase. Romania is on top of the list with 83.6% more vans registered in January 2018 compared to 2017.
| Country | January 2018 | January 2017 | % change 18/17 |
| Romania | 1818 | 990 | 83.6% |
| Hungary | 1648 | 1210 | 36.2% |
| Latvia | 174 | 134 | 29.9% |
| Poland | 4958 | 3858 | 28.5% |
| Lithuania | 280 | 233 | 20.2% |
Source: ACEA
New heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) registrations
The ACEA report indicates that in January 2018 registrations of new heavy commercial vehicles increased by 8.9% compared to the same month of the previous year – 25,753 units were registered in total. Heavy-truck demand declined in the UK (-14.8%), but sales increased in other markets and especially in Italy and France (up, respectively, 24.9% and 15.3%).
In this segment, the record holders are still among the Eastern European countries. Although the percentage growth per country is impressive the number of actual trucks registered reflects the size of the market and is relatively small.
| Country | January 2018 | January 2017 | % change 18/17 |
| Greece | 25 | 15 | 66.7% |
| Romania | 524 | 344 | 52.3% |
| Luxembourg | 114 | 83 | 37.3% |
| Latvia | 168 | 126 | 33.3% |
| Portugal | 413 | 315 | 31.1% |
Source: ACEA
New medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) registrations
Overall, 30,835 new trucks were registered in January of this year, 8.6% more than in January 2017. The ACEA reports that four out of five biggest EU markets posted growth over the month. As in all segments, the Eastern European countries recorded the biggest increases in registrations with Hungary on top of the list.
| Country | January 2018 | January 2017 | % change 18/17 |
| Hungary | 494 | 287 | 72.1% |
| Romania | 557 | 359 | 55.2% |
| Latvia | 174 | 130 | 33.8% |
| Portugal | 496 | 372 | 33.3% |
| Greece | 51 | 40 | 27.5% |
Source: ACEA