New commercial vehicle registrations across the EU in March this year amounted to 184,235 units, decreasing by 11.8 percent compared to the same month last year and up 46.2 percent compared to February this year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). In March this year, looking at new registrations, with the exception of Germany which grew slightly by 0.3 percent, all other major markets in the EU-27 region saw decreases, with a fall of 45.4 percent in Italy, 22.1 percent in Spain, 11.2 percent in France and seven percent in the UK - all year on year.
In the first quarter of this year, a total of 451,244 new commercial vehicles were registered in the EU-27, or down 9.6 percent from the same period a year ago. Looking at new registrations in the major markets in the EU-27 region in the first three months of the year, a downturn prevailed as new registrations fell by one percent in Germany, 5.8 percent in France, 8.9 percent in the UK, 22.6 percent in Spain and 36.1 percent in Italy.
In the January-March period, new heavy commercial vehicle registrations in the EU declined by 3.1 percent to 56,135 units, compared to January-March 2011. Over the first three months, the EU registered a 2.4 percent drop in registrations of new trucks compared to the same period last year, with the 74,702 new trucks recorded. In the meantime, new registrations of buses and coaches were up by 6.2 percent year on year in the first three months, with 7,779 new vehicles registered.