Sales of new delivery vans in the EU grew strongly

Sales of new commercial vehicles in the European Union picked up considerably in the first quarter of this year. All in all, almost 8 percent more vans were sold in the first quarter with 355,553 units than a year ago, reports the European car industry organization ACEA. In the Netherlands, there was an even stronger increase in percentage terms in Q1. 19,298 delivery vans were sold here, no less than 20 percent more than last year. Of the major European car countries, the recovery was strongest in Spain. There, sales grew by almost a third. There were also strong sales gains in Germany and Italy. In France, sales fell slightly.

So it bounces back nicely from last year. Over the whole of 2022, sales of new commercial vehicles fell by almost 15 percent. This was mainly due to supply problems as car manufacturers faced shortages of parts, including computer chips. Furthermore, the war in Ukraine caused a lack of cable harnesses. It has recently become apparent that the market for new passenger cars in the EU has recently shown a strong recovery. Over the first three months of this year, sales increased by 18 percent to nearly 2.7 million new vehicles.