Strong growth for EU commercial vehicle sales in August – ACEA

LONDON (ICIS)–EU commercial vehicle registrations gained momentum in August, rising 31.8% year on year in August compared to 13.3% in July, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association said on Thursday.

The expansion coincides with a rebound in passenger car registrations, which rose 10% month on month in August, after contracting in July.

Representing the 20th consecutive month of growth for the sector, the August increase in commercial vehicle registrations was driven by stronger demand for vans, with growth generated across all major markets, particularly Italy, Germany, Spain and France, the ACEA said.

Registrations for vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes rose 35.8% year on year to 123,954 units, while medium-heavy vehicle sales rose 18.5% over the same period to 23,529 units.

Registrations of commercial vehicles over 16 tonnes rose 18% year on year in August to 18,307 units, while new medium and heavy bus and coach registrations declined by 0.7% over the same period to 3,302 units.

The EU commercial vehicles sector expanded 14.3% year on year in the first eight months of the year, ACEA added.

The automotive industry is a major global consumer of petrochemicals which contributes more than a third of the raw material costs of an average vehicle. ICIS tracks the movement of petrochemical raw material costs in auto production both globally and regionally with the weighted ICIS Basket of Automotive Petrochemicals (IBAP).

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