Commercial vehicle registration in the EU grew by 43.9pc in the first five months of the year to 838,941 units compared to January-May 2020, according to European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
All the four EU markets gained in the five-month period with Italy’s registrations increasing by 69.5pc, France’s by 55.2pc, Spain’s by 51.9pc, and Germany’s by 20.3pc.
In May, commercial vehicle registrations increased by 51.3pc to 165,363 units from the same month last year but remained 30,000 units below pre-pandemic levels. On an annual basis, commercial vehicle sales in Spain grew by 89.6pc in May followed by Italy, Germany, and France at 51.3pc, 46.4pc, and 28.4pc, respectively.
Light commercial vehicle (LCV) registrations grew by 46.4pc to 700,510 units in January-May on an annual basis and by 49.6pc to 138,429 units in May from the same month last year.
The sales of heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) rose by 40.1pc to 106,819 units in the first five months of 2021 compared to January-May 2020 and grew by 74.9pc in May to 20,601 vehicles against the same month in 2020, ACEA noted.
ACEA reported a 34.7pc growth in medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) registration to 128,174 vehicles in January-May from the same months in 2020 and an increase of 64.6pc to 25,071 units last month compared to May 2020.
Sales of medium and heavy buses and coaches increased by 1.8pc to 10,257 units in the first five months of 2021 compared to the same period last year and rose by 18.1pc to 1,863 units in May from the same month last year.