Demand for new commercial vehicles in the EU grew in March by a significant 10.0%, supported by all main national markets, totaling 266,930 units. Spain led the growth (+24.3%), followed by Germany (+17.3%), Italy (+17.0%, with 19,979 registrations, about 2.9 thousand more than in March 2016) and France (+13.7%), all posting double digit figures. UK only recorded a slight decline (-1.3%).
In the last month light commercial vehicle registrations increased by 10.5%, thanks again to Spain, Germany, Italy and France. Both heavy trucks and trucks posted positive results (respectively +6.2% and +7.1%), as a consequence of the extraordinary performance of Italy (+60.1% and 52.9%). Bus and coach segment also showed good results (+9.1%), pushed by Italy and Germany.
The first quarter of 2017 closed with a market expansion of 7.5%, corresponding to 606,258 new commercial vehicles sold. In the first three months UK showed no change (-0.2%), while all other big markets increased: Spain (+20.4%), Italy (+13.4%, with 50,884, 6 thousand over the same period last year), France (+9.4%), Germany (+7.5%).
