Commercial vehicle registrations: -14.6% in 2022; -5.1% in December

Total new commercial vehicles

In December 2022, new commercial vehicle registrations in the EU retreated by 5.1%, as component shortages continued to weigh on vehicle availability. All vehicle segments performed worse than in December 2021, contributing to the overall negative result. During the month, the performance of the four major markets was mixed. France and Italy both faced losses (down 14.2% and 8.3% respectively). However, Spain saw a solid improvement (+15.2%), as did Germany (+8.4%).

Overall in 2022, the EU commercial vehicle market contracted by 14.6% to 1.6 million units, with volumes falling below those of the pandemic year of 2020 (1.7 million units). This was primarily caused by the ongoing supply chain issues which affected vehicle availability throughout the year. The region’s overall performance was not helped by its four key markets, which all suffered double-digit percentage declines: France (-17.7%), Spain (‑16.7%), Germany (-11.0%) and Italy (-10.5%).

New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5t

December registrations of new vans dropped by 5.1%, totalling 120,503 units sold across the European Union. Two of the four largest markets in the region saw substantial gains: Germany (+19.0%) and Spain (+12.4%). By contrast, French and Italian light commercial vehicle sales fell significantly in December (down by 14.6% and 11.5% respectively).

Full-year 2022 results were 18.1% lower than in 2021, with nearly 1.3 million new light commercial vehicles registered in the EU. With the exception of Cyprus (+1.2%), all the region’s markets posted declines, including the four major ones: Spain (-21.3%), France (‑19.5%), Germany (-13.0%) and Italy (-12.3%).

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

In December, EU registrations of new heavy commercial vehicles contracted by 1.9% year-on-year. The region’s negative result was largely driven by the performances of its largest markets. Germany – the leading market for heavy trucks in volume terms – suffered the steepest decline (-18.8%), followed by Poland (-10.4%) and France (-6.7%). On the other hand, Spain and Italy recorded significant gains, up 28.4% and 22.0% respectively.

In 2022, 256,020 heavy trucks were registered in total across the European Union, a year-on year increase of 6.5%. Looking at the region’s largest markets, only Germany remained in negative territory last year (-0.9%). All the other high-volume EU markets for heavy trucks recorded an improvement: Spain (+13.6%), Poland (+6.6%), Italy (+5.1%) and France (+2.3%).

New medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) over 3.5t

In December, new medium and heavy truck registrations fell by 3.2%, counting 24,470 units sold in the EU. Performances in the Western European largest markets were mixed. Spain recorded the highest percentage gain (+30.2%), followed by Italy (+10.5%). By contrast, Germany faced a significant loss (-18.6%), followed by a more modest fall in France (-7.5%).

2022 registrations of new trucks across the EU grew by 3.5%, thanks to substantial gains registered from August to November. Among the four key markets in Western Europe, Germany and France remained in negative territory last year (down by 3.5% and 1.0% respectively). However, Spain witnessed a solid improvement (+12.7%), followed by Italy with a more modest, but still positive, result (+2.3%).

New medium and heavy buses & coaches (MHBC) over 3.5t

In the last month of 2022, the EU market for new buses and coaches contracted by 17.2%. Looking at the region’s four major markets, Spanish bus sales jumped by 60.1%, followed by Italy with a solid improvement of 19.4%. However, this was not enough to offset the double-digit percentage declines recorded in France (-26.3%) and Germany (-25.4%), as these two countries alone account for almost 50% of total new EU bus registrations.

Overall in 2022, EU registrations of new buses and coaches retreated by 5.1%, as the improvements seen in March, May and October last year were not enough to bring the full-year result into positive territory. A similar pattern was observed in the region’s key markets, with three out of four suffering falls: Germany (-24.6%), France (-14.2%) and Italy (-6.2%).

Overall in 2022, the EU commercial vehicle market contracted by 14.6% to 1.6 million units, with volumes falling below those of the pandemic year of 2020 (1.7 million units).