EU commercial vehicle registrations slide in 2025

The EU’s commercial vehicle market endured a difficult year in 2025, with new registrations falling across most segments amid a challenging economic climate, according to data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

While demand for vans and trucks weakened significantly, the bus segment emerged as a rare bright spot, posting solid growth.

Overall, new commercial vehicle registrations reflected mounting pressure on businesses from high energy costs, persistent inflation, and subdued economic activity. Although the share of electrically-chargeable vehicles continued to rise across segments, ACEA warned that progress remains too slow. Limited charging infrastructure, unfavourable total cost of ownership, and fragmented policy frameworks continue to constrain market uptake.

Vans: sharp downturn despite gains in electrification

New EU van registrations fell by 8.8% in 2025, with declines concentrated in the bloc’s largest markets. France recorded the steepest fall at 5.6%, followed by Germany (-5.4%) and Italy (-5%). Spain stood out as an exception, registering a strong 11.7% increase.

Diesel vans remained dominant, despite a 12.8% drop in registrations to 1.17 million units, translating into an 80.7% market share, down from 84.4% a year earlier. Petrol vans suffered an even steeper decline of 31.9%, holding just 4.4% of the market. Electrically-chargeable vans continued to gain traction, reaching an 11.2% market share, up from 6.1% in 2024, while hybrid vans grew 21.4% but still accounted for only 2.7% of registrations.

Trucks: broad-based contraction across major markets

New EU truck registrations declined by 6.2% to 307,460 units in 2025. The downturn was driven by a 5.4% fall in heavy-truck registrations and a sharper 9.9% drop in the medium-truck segment. All major markets contracted, with Germany posting a double-digit decline of 12.2%, followed by France (-9%) and Spain (-3.6%).

Diesel trucks continued to dominate the market, accounting for 93.2% of new registrations despite an 8% fall in volumes. Electrically-chargeable trucks above 3.5 tonnes expanded their share to 4.2%, up from 2.3% a year earlier. Growth was led by the Netherlands, Germany, and France, which together represented roughly two-thirds of the EU’s electric truck market, even as overall truck demand remained weak.

Buses: growth defies wider market weakness

In contrast to vans and trucks, new EU bus registrations increased by 7.5% in 2025, reaching 38,238 units. Germany led the expansion with a 28% increase, followed by Poland at 16.6%. Italy (-15.9%) and Spain (-4%) were the main markets to record declines.

Electrically-chargeable buses made notable gains, capturing 23.8% of new registrations by year-end. Germany saw electric bus registrations more than double, while Sweden and Belgium also recorded triple-digit growth rates. Hybrid-electric buses, however, fell sharply by 24.9%, accounting for 7% of the market. Diesel buses grew 5.7% in volume but saw their market share edge down to 62.1%.