EU commercial vehicle market grows 6.5% in Jan.-Aug.

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - The EU commercial vehicles market this January-August grew 6.5% year-on-year, said the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) on Wednesday.

The ACEA reported that the number of new commercial vehicle registrations in the eight-month period totaled 1.74 million.

"Germany led this growth with an increase of 13.6%, followed by the UK (11.3%), France (6.5%), Italy (4.3%) and Spain (2.1%)," the group said.

The association noted that EU demand for vans -- light commercial vehicles -- surged 6.2% over the same period, thanks to very strong demand during the summer months of July and August.

"From January to August, the heavy truck market of the EU expanded by 7.7%, despite the declines recorded in the summer," it said.

On the medium/heavy commercial vehicles side, demand for new trucks across the EU saw considerable growth -- up 8.0% -- over the entire period, even though July and August figures were negative.

"Eight months into the year, demand for new buses and coaches remained positive (up 3.8%), although sales dropped during the summer period," the ACEA added.

Last year, the number of new commercial vehicle registrations totaled 2.5 million in the 28-member bloc.