According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), in the first nine months of 2024, new EU van sales increased by 8.5%, reaching 1,170,310 units, driven by positive results in all four key markets.
Spain led with a remarkable 16.7% rise, followed by Germany at 8.2%, Italy at 7.3%, and France at 5.8%.
By contrast, new EU truck registrations saw a 7.5% decline, totalling 249,708 units from January to September.
This drop was driven by a 9.5% downturn in heavy-truck sales, while medium trucks increased by a feeble 3%.
Though Spain and Italy remained in positive territory with gains of 12% and 2.1%, respectively, this did not offset declines in Germany (-7%) and France (-4.3%).
Bus sales rose by 16% compared to the first three quarters of 2023, totalling 27,400 units.
All major markets recorded growth, particularly Spain (+21.8%) and Italy (+21%).
Vans
Diesel remained the preferred choice for new EU van buyers in the first three quarters of2024.
Sales rose by 10.6% to 989,975 units, maintaining a stable 84.6% market share.
The increase of petrol models (+7.5%) is stabilising, accounting for a 6.1% market share.
Electrically chargeable vans experienced a steep decline of 12.8%, capturing a 5.7% market share, down from 7.1% last year.
Hybrid-electric van sales dropped by 4.3% and now make up 2% of the market.
Trucks
Diesel trucks continued to dominate in the first nine months of 2024, representing 95.3% of new EU registrations, despite a 7.3% decrease from the same period last year.
Electrically chargeable truck registrations declined by 6.6%, with market share stable compared to last year at 2.2%.
Results for electrically chargeable models across countries were mixed: while the German (+56.8%) and the Danish (+22.3%) markets grew, they could not offset the declines in France (-58.4%) and the Netherlands (-52.7%).
Read more: Volta Trucks: “Frameworks and incentives are needed to ensure an inclusive transition”
Buses
New EU electrically chargeable bus registrations rose by 28.7% from January to September 2024, with the market share increasing from 14.3% to 15.9%.
Germany became the largest market by volume and grew by 11.4%, while Italy increased by 72.9%, making it the thirdlargest market for this power type.
On the other hand, the French market declined by 10.8% with 514 units registered.
Hybrid-electric bus sales dipped by 13.2%, and now make up a 9.5% share.
Diesel bus registrations grew by 19.4%, increasing their market share to 66.6%, up 1.9% from the same period last year.
