New commercial vehicle registrations: vans +11.2%, trucks +20%, buses +15% in the first half of 2023

New EU truck registrations recorded a significant increase of 20%, totalling 179,508 units. Almost all EU markets saw double-digit percentage gains, including the four largest: Germany (+24.8%), France (+12.3%), Italy (+12.6%), and Poland (+10.8%).

New EU bus registrations also had a solid first half of 2023, as sales rose 15% to 14,781 units. In terms of sales volumes, France led the way with 2,982 units sold, representing a 22.3% increase. Other major markets also reported substantial growth: Italy (+62.6%), Spain (+58.7%), and Germany (+27.8%). 

Fuel types of new commercial vehicles

Vans

In the first half of 2023, diesel remained the top choice, accounting for 83.5%, lower than the 87.2% share in 2022. However, alternative powertrains are gradually increasing in popularity, resulting in a modest shift in market share. Notably, the share of electrically chargeable vans increased to 6.9%. This represents a two-fold increase (+100.4%), totalling 50,708 units, primarily driven by triple-digit growth in the first and third largest markets: France (+118.9%) and Spain (+138%). In contrast, hybrid-electric van registrations declined by 7.2% to 16,602 units, representing a 2.3% share. Other fuel types, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas, increased by 26.5% and now represent 1.3% of the market.

Trucks

In the first half of 2023, diesel dominated the market, accounting for 95.6% of new truck registrations. Notably, there was a 19.2% increase in diesel truck sales, with several member states reporting double-digit gains, including Germany (+23.7%). Battery-electric truck sales surged by 351.5%, reaching 2,384 units. Despite this remarkable growth, this fuel type represents only 1.3% market share but is still an improvement from 0.4% recorded last year.

Buses

EU sales of new electrically chargeable buses increased by 33.9% to reach 2,132 units, representing a market share of 14.4% in the first half of 2023, compared to 12.4% in 2022. Among the bloc’s three largest markets, Spain grew impressively by 755.9%, followed by France (+89.9%) and Germany (+18.1%). Hybrid-electric buses maintained momentum (sales up 160.5%), with market share more than doubling compared to the first half of 2022 (from 6.2% to 14%). Significant growth in the second and third largest markets, France (+886%) and Spain (+180.3%), contributed to this result. Together with Germany, France and Spain account for 82.4% of all EU hybrid bus registrations. Despite the shift to electric and hybrid models, diesel buses still retain the largest market share at 63%.

In the first half of 2023, new EU van sales increased by 11.2% to 730,969 units as supply chain issues eased. Spain and Germany substantially contributed to this increase as van sales rose by 26.6% and 15.5%, respectively.