Commercial vehicles, coaches and trucks still sell a lot less well than before the corona crisis. In January there was a considerable backlog in sales in the European Union compared to a year earlier.
Car manufacturers sold 7.2 percent fewer company cars in the European Union last month than in the same month a year earlier. Because of the corona crisis, entrepreneurs still seem to be afraid of making significant expenditure on their vehicle fleet. Sales of coaches and buses fell the most, as travel restrictions and working from home are causing a significant decline in passenger transport. A total of 141,462 company cars were registered, reports the European automotive industry organization ACEA. The number of buses sold fell by almost a quarter on an annual basis. In Spain it was a lot worse; sales there lagged 60 percent compared to last year.
The decline in the sale of heavy trucks, heavier than 16 tons, was limited with a decrease of 3.3 percent. In Central Europe and Italy there was even an increase within this category. Vans and other light commercial vehicles sold 116,177 units in January, 7.1 percent less than in the same month in 2020. Like many other sectors, the auto industry suffered badly from the corona crisis last year. Due to economic uncertainty, the demand for vehicles fell sharply. According to ACEA, commercial vehicle sales fell by nearly a fifth in all of 2020.
In the Netherlands, last year in terms of commercial vehicle sales were worse than the European average, as has already been shown. Here, almost 23 percent fewer commercial vehicles were sold in 2020 than in 2019. A total of 71,502 commercial vehicles, according to ACEA. A greater contraction than in passenger cars. More than 20 percent less of these were sold in the Netherlands than a year earlier.