European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) figures for commercial vehicle registrations in June show the UK market is still performing strongly overall compared to 2013, as European registrations maintained their upward trend for the 10th month in a row.
Overall CV demand was up 25.5% in the UK, compared with June 2013, and up 11.1% over the first six months of 2014.
Of the major markets, only Spain and Italy have managed to outperform the UK over the year-to-date by 38.0% and 13.6% respectively. Portugal at 61.1%, Greece at 59.4% and Hungary at 36.1% made impressive gains in June compared to the same month in 2013, while France and Germany posted steady figures of 3.8% and 6.3% respectively for the month.
The heavy truck sector saw a small decline in June, compared to the same month in 2013 by 0.7%, as 17,692 truck registrations were made in total. Spain and Germany performed well in the month, with a rise of 37.1% and 21% respectively, while the UK, France and Italy all saw decreases of 19.9%, 15.2% and 9.2% respectively. Year-to-date, however, the UK registration figures are behind by 26.5% compared to the first six months of 2013, while Spain continues its positive trend with a 41.1% rise compared to the first half of last year.
The light commercial vehicle market saw the UK enjoy a buoyant month with a 33.3% increase in registrations over June 2013, with Spain posting an 18% increase. Over the first six months of 2014, the UK, Italy and Spain remain the only major EU nations with an increase over the same period in 2013, at 16.8%, 15% and 39% respectively.
Spain, Germany and Italy led the way in bus and coach registrations in June with 64.1%, 14.3% and 19.2% upturns compared with the same month last year. The UK and France registered a decrease of 4.8% and 18.3% respectively, despite the overall sector increasing by 8.5% over June 2013.
The year-to-date UK bus and coach registrations remain ahead of the first six months of 2013 by 3%. With the overall sector up by 7.3%, and Germany and Spain both registering increases for the same period of 11.5% and 6.7%, Italy and France remain slightly behind at 0.5% and 2.9% respectively.
