New commercial vehicle sales decreased from 196,855 units in May 2019 to 109,431 last month, according to preliminary data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) on June 24.
Through the first five months of the year, sales declined by 36.7pc to 538,238 units from 921,341 during the same period last year.
Spain and Germany recorded the biggest sales declines at 59pc and 47.9pc, respectively, followed by Italy at 36.5pc and France at 35pc. Passenger car sales in these countries have played out similarly.
Van sales decreased by 41.3pc in May to 92,064 units from 157,828 units during the prior year period. Between January and May, sales stood at 477,939 units, falling by 36.3pc from 751,262 units during the same five-month period last year.
New registrations (sale) of trucks (over 3.5t [3mt]) in the EU saw a decline of 56.9pc in May to 15,244 from 35,391 units during the same month last year. In the first five months of 2020, there were 95,174 units sold, down by 38.6pc from 154,927 units during the prior year period.
Sales of heavy trucks (up to 16t) fell by almost 60pc to 11,783 units in May from 29,247 a year earlier. Through the first five months of this year, sales declined by 38.6pc to 95,174 units from 154,927 during the same period in 2019.