The European commercial vehicle market showed varied trends in the first nine months of 2026 amid rising energy costs. While van sales stayed nearly unchanged, trucks and buses experienced notable growth. Electrically-chargeable vehicles continued to gain ground but still lag behind what is needed for faster adoption.
Van and Truck Registration Trends
The EU van market remained flat, with just over 1.07 million units registered through September. Performance across key countries was uneven. Spain saw solid growth of 6.9%, yet registrations in Germany, Italy, and France fell by 4.1%, 5.1%, and 5.6%, respectively.
Truck registrations grew by 7.5% to about 245,000 units. This gain was mainly due to a strong increase in heavy truck demand, which rose 8.5%, along with a 2.5% rise in medium trucks. Poland and Spain led growth among major markets with increases of 20.5% and 13.2%. Germany’s truck market also expanded modestly by 2.5%, while France saw a slight decline of 1.6%.
Bus Market Improves Sharply
Buses recorded the strongest growth, with registrations up 15.2% to nearly 33,000 units so far in 2026. Italy reported the most significant rise, jumping 34.4%, followed by France and Germany with increases of 10.5% and 10.1%. Spain’s bus market grew mildly by 1.3%. Notably, Poland’s bus registrations surged by 68.6%, pushing it into the position of the EU’s fifth-largest bus market.
Powertrain Mix Shifts Gradually
Diesel remains dominant among commercial vehicles but is losing some ground to electric and hybrid models.
- Diesel vans fell 4.3% in registrations to 838,830 units, with market share slipping from 81.7% to 78.1%.
- Electrically-chargeable vans jumped 38.2%, reaching 14.1% of van sales, up from 10.2% last year.
- Petrol vans declined by nearly 20%, dropping to 3.7% of the market.
- Hybrids also gained, growing 35.6%, though still just 3.4% of van registrations.
For trucks, diesel accounts for 91.7% of new registrations, with a 6.6% overall increase. Electrically-chargeable trucks grew nearly 50%, making up 5.3% of truck sales. This growth is heavily driven by Germany, France, and the Netherlands, which together represent most of the electric truck market in the EU.
Bus registrations of electric models rose 37.6%, boosting their share to 26.4%. Italy’s doubling of electric bus sales led this surge. Diesel buses also grew by 5%, holding a majority 58.4% share. Hybrid-electric buses increased 24%, now 6.9% of the market.
Industry Context
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), representing major commercial vehicle producers like DAF, Daimler, Iveco, MAN, Scania, and Volvo, reported these figures. The association highlights the importance of these trends for Europe’s economy, where the automotive sector employs over 13 million people and contributes significantly to GDP and tax revenue.
Overall, the early 2026 data reflects cautious growth in some commercial vehicle segments and a steady but still gradual shift toward electrification in Europe’s commercial fleets.
Source: acea.auto