Among the major markets in April, only France (-3.0%) and Spain (-14.3%) declined while Germany (+12.2%) and the UK expanded (+23.6%).

From January to April, France (+7.7%) recorded the most vehicles (161,941 units), followed by the UK (104,190) and Germany (103,020) which grew by 28.6% and 25.5% respectively.

Looking at new Light Commercial Vehicles up to 3.5t – "vans" – in April, demand for new vans was up 4.6% in the EU, amounting to 127,814 units. Of the most significant markets, France (-6.6%) and Spain (-19.0%) faced a downturn, while new registrations increased in Germany (+5.1%) and the UK (+21.4%).

Four months into the year, new van registrations totalled 543,030 units, or 8.9% more than in the first four months of 2010. France was the largest market and expanded by 4.5%. Germany (+18.9%) and the UK (+29.0%) both posted a double-digit growth, while Spain saw its market contract by 11.3%.

For new Heavy Commercial Vehicles over 16t (excluding Buses & Coaches) – "heavy trucks" – the EU recorded 20,581 new heavy trucks in April. All major markets posted strong growths, leading to an overall 52.4% upturn in the region. The British market expanded by 72.7%, followed by the Netherlands (+62.1%), France (+47.8%), Spain (+32.5%) and Germany (+31.5%).

From January to April, 78,624 new trucks were registered in the EU, or 61.9% more than in the same period last year. Germany (+50.9%) was the biggest market, recording 19,860 units, while France (+62.8%) ranked second with 13,369 new vehicles. The Netherlands (+40.6%) and Spain (+40.7%) performed similarly. The UK saw its demand increase by 79.9%.

Moving on to new Commercial Vehicles over 3.5t (excluding Buses & Coaches) – "trucks" – this segment totalled 27,338 new vehicles in the EU in April, posting a 42.4% increase compared to the same month a year earlier. Growth prevailed across countries, ranging from +56.7% in the Netherlands to +48.8% in the UK, +40.1% in France, +31.3% in Germany and +28.9% in Spain. Greece was the only country to record a downturn (-45.5%).

Over the first four months, the most significant markets performed similarly as demand for new trucks grew by 36.2% in the Netherlands, 40.8% in Spain, 43.3% in the UK, 45.4% in Germany and 52.2% in France. Overall, new truck registrations increased by 48.7%, totaling 103,935 units.