In the European Union, 1.88 million new commercial vehicles were registered last year. Compared to 2020, when sales collapsed sharply as a result of the corona crisis, this is an increase of almost 10 percent. Registrations were still about a tenth below the level of 2019 (2.1 million). This is according to data from the European car federation ACEA.
The increase occurred in almost all European countries, except for Spain and Greece. In Belgium, the 0.4 percent increase was very modest. The increase was strongest in Italy, followed by France. In Germany, where the consequences of the corona crisis in 2020 were relatively minor, there was an increase in sales of 0.6 percent last year. The increase in the Netherlands was 12.5 percent.
In particular, more new heavy trucks (+16 tons) were taken into service (+21 percent). Registrations for trucks from 3.5 to 16 tons rose by 17 percent. Bus sales increased by only 2.8 percent. Sales of delivery vans, which make up the lion’s share of all commercial vehicles, rose by 8.5 percent.
The year ended on a sour note. In December, new commercial vehicle registrations fell by 8.4 percent. This is mainly due to the drop in sales of new vans (-13 percent), a result of the worldwide shortage of microchips that is also hitting the car sector hard.
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