Gökhan Ergöçün
26 January 2021•Update: 26 January 2021
ISTANBUL
The EU commercial vehicles market posted a double-digit decline in 2020, on a yearly basis, a trade group said Tuesday.
Last year, when the COVID19 pandemic hit all economic activities, commercial vehicle sales dropped by 18.9% in the 27-member-bloc, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) announced.
While all EU countries saw drops, except Denmark, major markets posted largest declines, with Spain (-26.1%), followed by France (-16.9%), Italy (-15.1%) and Germany (-14.8%).
The group's data showed that the number of new commercial vehicle registrations in the year were around 1.7 million units, down from 2.12 million in the previous year.
The EU's demand for vans – light commercial vehicles – dropped 17.6% in the last year to 1.44 million units.
Demand for new heavy trucks also dropped by 27.3% in the year to 198,352.
On the medium/heavy commercial vehicles side, demand for new trucks across the EU fell as much as 25.7% in the same period, as 247,499 vehicles were sold.
"Overall in 2020, EU demand for buses and coaches contracted by 20.3%, counting 29,147 new registrations in total," the ACEA added.
Meanwhile, in December, new commercial vehicle registrations in the bloc were down by 4.2% to 170,122 units.
While light commercial vehicle sales decreased in December, other segments posted positive growth.
