New commercial vehicle registrations 2020 – A focus on Light & Heavy Commercial Vehicles within the road transport sector

The following report details the new commercial vehicle registration in January 2020. A summary of the statistics focusing on new LCV and HCV vehicle registrations across Europe and in the UK. The report focuses specifically on LCVs up to 3.5t and HCVs over 16t and does not take into account passenger transport of any type.

In January 2020, commercial vehicle registrations fell by 11.5% across the EU. With the exception of passenger vehicles, demand fell across all segments. The slowdown in van sales – making up more than 80% of EU commercial vehicle demand – had a major impact on the overall performance across the sector.

All four major EU markets posted declines in January, with Spain recording the strongest decline (-19.3%), followed by France (-9.1%), Germany (-7.6%) and Italy (-2.9%).

EU Total Vehicle Registrations 2018 – 2020

UK New Commercial Vehicle Registrations

Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) – New Registrations

During the first month of 2020, registrations of LCVs dropped once again (-10.2%) after the increase observed in December. The region’s four largest markets contributed to this decline: Spain (-20.2%), France (-9.2%), Germany (-3.0%) and Italy (-2.4%).

 EU Light Commercial Vehicle Registrations 2018 – 2020

UK Light Commercial Vehicle Registrations 2018 – 2020

New heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) of 16t and over

January 2020 results in the heavy-duty segment continued the downward trend that has taken hold since August 2019 (in large part following the introduction of the new smart tachograph regulations). As a result, demand for new heavy trucks dropped by 21.7% in the first month of the year. All four key EU markets registered negative growth in January, with most suffering double-digit losses, like Germany (-26.0%), Spain (-15.9%) and France (-14.2%).

EU Heavy Commercial Vehicle Registrations 2018 – 2020

UK Heavy Commercial Vehicle Registrations 2018 – 2020