While forecasts on the German used commercial vehicle market remain cautiously optimistic (see TruckScout24 as a barometer of the economic situation), sellers of new lorries throughout Europe will have to tighten their belts: the European commercial vehicle market shrank again in June. 149,996 lorries were registered, 4.8 percent fewer than in the corresponding period of last year, according to the ACEA, the European industry association. A total of 832,093 new vehicles were registered in the first six months of the year, which corresponds to a fall of 6.9 percent.
Spain: more commercial vehicles sold
However, the weak sales in June did not affect all of the major markets. Sales in Spain even increased by a good 14.7 percent, for example. In the UK, new registrations also climbed, if only by 3.7 percent. In Germany, sales fell by 7.1 percent, which was more than the market, while in France (-9.3 percent) and Italy (-13.1 percent) things looked even bleaker.
For heavy commercial vehicles, which are offered by the German manufacturers Daimler and MAN among others, the drop was 5.8 percent. In this sector, the sales figures only increased in the UK, but that was with a jump of almost a quarter. At 10.4 percent, Germany recorded the lowest fall again, followed by France (-13.4 percent), Italy (-20.1 percent) and Spain (-21.9 percent).