EU: Commercial vehicle market down 24.5% in Jan-Sept

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - The EU commercial vehicle market saw a sharp drop of 24.5% in the first nine months of 2020, totaling 1.2 million units on a yearly basis, a trade group said on Friday.

Despite last month’s gains, the economic impact of the pandemic continues to weigh on overall demand so far this year, according to a statement by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).

"From January to September each of the 27 EU markets posted double-digit declines, including the four major ones: Spain (-33.0%), Italy (-21.7%), France (-21.6%) and Germany (-21.4%)," it said.

On a monthly basis, demand for commercial vehicles (CVs) in the block improved markedly in September, with registrations increasing by 13.3% to 163,512 units last month.

The group said, this growth was largely driven by the van segment, which accounted for over 84% of all CV registrations.

"The region’s four largest markets all recorded positive results, with Italy (+17.8%), Germany (+17.6%) and France (+15.1%) posting double-digit gains in September," it added.