The first quarter of 2025 proved challenging for the EU’s commercial vehicle market, marked by significant declines in key markets. Sluggish economic growth, lower prior order intake, and the complex regulatory landscape contributed to the business uncertainty.
Vans
Diesel was the preferred choice for new van buyers in the European Union (EU) in Q1 2025. However, sales declined by 14% to 290,870 units, resulting in an 82.5% market share— a decrease from 84.2% in Q1 2024. Petrol models decreased by 25.8%, accounting for a 5.2% share of the total. Electrically-chargeable vans grew by 32.6%, capturing an 8.7% market share, an increase from 5.7% in Q1 2024. Hybrid van registrations increased by 0.7%, representing a 2.5% market share.
Trucks
Diesel maintained its dominance in the truck market in the first quarter of 2025. Diesel trucks accounted for 93.4% of new EU registrations despite the 17.7% drop in volumes compared to Q1 2024. Electrically-chargeable trucks grew by 50.6%, securing 3.5% of the market share, up from 2% last year. The Netherlands led this expansion with a 342.7% growth, accounting for 25% of the EU’s electrically-chargeable truck sales.
Buses
New EU electrically-chargeable bus registrations surged by 50.3% in the first quarter of 2025, with market share increasing from 13% in Q1 2024 to 19.9%. Germany, the largest market by volume, saw an impressive growth of 118.9%, while Sweden recorded the second-largest number of registrations, 237 electric buses, compared to just 9 in Q1 2024. On the other hand, hybrid-electric bus sales experienced a double-digit decline of 28.7%, accounting for 10.7% of the market. Diesel bus registrations declined by 5.6%, now holding a 65.9% market share, down from 68.5% in Q1 2024.
Source: ACEA