Comité des Constructeurs Français d'Automobiles, the Automotive manufacturing association in France has reported a 35.5% increase in light commercial vehicles (less than 5.1 tonnes) for Q1, as well as a 12.4% improvement on 2020 for industrial vehicles.
French Truck Market Taking Positive Steps Forward
For the LCV segment, the Comité des Constructeurs Français d'Automobiles has reported a 35.5% increase in vehicle registrations over the first quarter of 2021 with a 37.6% increase for a comparable number of working days with 63 days over the first 3 months of 2021 compared with 64 in 2020. The performance in Q1 is underpinned by a 182.9% improvement in performance in March 2021 with 2020. However, it is worth noting that it was in March 2020 when the Coronavirus pandemic hit Europe and most European states began their first phases of lockdown, heavily impacting the registrations of LCVs and industrial vehicles.
In terms of industrial vehicles over 5 tonnes, the market in France saw a 12.4% increase in industrial vehicle registrations over Q1 compared to 2020. It’s no surprise that March saw a substantial increase in sales (72.9%) in contrast with March 2020 for the industrial vehicle segment as well, with the aforementioned lockdown restrictions coming into force to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
These huge increases in registrations in March follow a similar trend to that in the UK LCV market whereby March saw an 85.6% increase against last year’s figures according to the SMMT.
It could be that European markets may just be playing catch up in terms of LCV and industrial vehicle registrations, but as countries continue to emerge from lockdowns and vaccination programmes are rolled out further, the automotive markets and tyre markets will be hoping this trend continues as markets move from a recovery phase into growth.
