LONDON (ICIS)--New registrations for commercial vehicles in the EU continued to decline in February, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) on Wednesday.
In February, demand for new commercial vehicle registrations was down for the 14th consecutive month in the EU, dropping to 109,331 units, a fall of by 13.3% compared with the same month the year before.
“Looking at the major markets, France (-12.3%), Germany (-14.4%), Spain (-19.5%) and Italy (-31.3%) all faced a downturn. The UK, thanks to positive results in the van segment, was the only one to post growth (+4.2%),” the ACEA said.
A wide variety of chemical markets depend on demand from the automotive industry.
In February, registrations for new light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes, or vans, amounted to 89,964 units, also 13.3% less than in the same month the year before, with declines recorded in France (-12.0%), Germany (-16.4%), Spain (-18.3%) and Italy (-31.9%), although demand was sustained in the UK (+11.8%).
February registrations in the EU for new heavy commercial vehicles of 16 tonnes or over, excluding buses and coaches, totalled 13,320 units, down by 12.4% from the same month the year before, as all significant markets contracted.
A total of 17,620 new registrations for new commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, excluding buses and coaches, were recorded in February, also a fall of 13.3% year on year, as markets in Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain all witnessed a decline in demand.
Registrations for new buses and coaches over 3.5 tonnes showed an 11.2% decline to 1,747 units
compared with February 2012. The German market was stable, while the French grew by 31.4%. Italy (-24.2%), the UK (-24.6%) and Spain (-25.8%) faced a double-digit downturn, the ACEA said.
In January and February, total demand for EU commercial vehicles declined by 11.9% year on year to 235,459 units.
“In the first two months of the year, the UK market expanded by 4.9%, while the French (-11.1%), German (-15.0%), Spanish (-17.6%) and Italian (-27.3%) contracted significantly, leading to an overall 11.9% decline and 235,459 new registrations,” ACEA said.