The European Union’s industrial vehicle market ended the first nine months of 2025 with a negative balance. Registrations declined sharply across nearly all segments and national markets, reflecting an economic climate that continues to weigh on investment. The downturn affected both light commercial vehicles and heavy trucks.
In the commercial vehicle segment, new registrations in the European Union dropped by 8.2%. The main markets all contributed to the decline: France recorded a fall of 8.3%, followed by Italy at -6.1% and Germany at -6%. Spain was the only exception, with growth of 13.3%, although this was not enough to offset the overall negative trend.
The industrial vehicle market also contracted, down 9.8% compared with the same period in 2024, with a total of 225,483 units registered. Demand for heavy trucks fell by 9%, while medium-duty vehicles declined by 13.5%. All major European countries posted lower figures, particularly Germany (-17.9%) and France (-13.4%).
In terms of powertrain, diesel remains the dominant choice for vans, although volumes fell by 11.4% to 877,079 units, reducing market share to 81.7% from 84.6% the previous year. Petrol models dropped by 29.8%, now accounting for 4.7% of the market. In contrast, electric vans reached a 10.2% share—almost double the 5.7% seen in 2024—while hybrids increased by 15.1% to represent 2.6% of total registrations.
Among heavy vehicles, diesel still prevails with a 93.5% share, despite an 11.5% decline in volume. Growth in electric trucks, while still limited, is gaining momentum: their market share rose to 3.8%, up from 2.1% a year earlier. The Netherlands (+192.3%), Germany (+32.9%) and France (+27.2%) are driving this rise, together accounting for around two-thirds of the EU’s electric truck market.
Massimiliano Barberis
