EU commercial vehicle market rises over 6 pct in Jan.

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL

The EU commercial vehicle market jumped 6.2 percent year-on-year in January, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) reported on Friday.

During the first month of 2019, the number of new commercial vehicle registrations reached 199,853, the ACEA report said.

Germany, the U.K., and France showed the highest growth rates with 15.3 percent, 9.7 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively, the report noted.

In the month, only Italy posted a decline in demand with 1.3 percent, the report added.

From January to December, the EU demand for vans -- light commercial vehicles -- soared by 6.1 percent to reach nearly 163,000 new registrations, almost 82 percent of all commercial vehicle registrations.

The ACEA stated that the demand for new heavy trucks remained positive over the same period, up 7.1 percent.

"January 2019 registrations of buses and coaches were 6.1 percent higher than in the same month one year ago," it said.