Europe may be concerned about sovereign debt and other economic issues, but those fears have not kept the commercial truck market from growing. New registrations of commercial vehicles in the European Union were up 3.0% in July and 15.7% in August, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association.
From January to August, a total of 1,2611,244 new commercial vehicles were registered across the region, 12.1% more than in the first eight months of 2010. Most major markets posted growth, ranging from 6.4% in France to 21.1% in the UK and 23.3% in Germany. Spain was the only one to contract (-6.3%).
Heavy trucks posted the strongest growth across segments in July (+29.4%), accounting for a total of 18,630 new vehicles in the European Union. Spain (+10.0%), Germany (+14.1%), France (+39.9) and the UK (+46.3%) all experienced a double-digit growth. In August, the upturn was still strong in Germany (+18.6%), the UK (+32.4%) and France