The latest commercial vehicle figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) reveal a mixed picture for light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes. A total of 1,073,427 vans were newly registered in the EU from January to September, almost matching the previous year’s figure. However, the largest markets showed divergent trends: while Spain saw growth, registrations declined in Germany, Italy and France.
The situation is entirely different for externally chargeable drivetrains. In the first nine months, 151,691 such vans were registered, representing a 38.2% increase compared to the previous year. Their share of the EU market rose from 10.2% to 14.1%. While diesel remains clearly dominant, it lost market share: from January to September, 838,830 diesel vans were registered, 4.3% fewer than the previous year. Their share dropped from 81.7% to 78.1%.
In its statistics, ACEA does not distinguish between purely battery-electric vans and plug-in hybrids, instead grouping both under the term “electrically chargeable”. Therefore, the figures mentioned cannot be attributed exclusively to battery-electric vehicles.
Germany grows faster than EU average, according to ACEA
The development in Germany is particularly striking. While the overall van market in the country shrank by 4.1% to 188,704 vehicles, registrations of externally chargeable models increased by 49.7% to 28,755 units. This translates to a market share of just over 15%.
Latest October figures from Dataforce show that this momentum has continued to accelerate. After three months of decline, the German van market grew again by 7% in October, reaching 43,158 new registrations. Battery-electric vans increased by 62% to 6,782 units, achieving a market share of 16%. Car rental companies contributed significantly to the overall growth, as their van registrations rose by 75%, according to Dataforce.
However, these figures are not directly comparable to the ACEA data for the first nine months. While ACEA groups battery-electric vans and plug-in hybrids together, the 6,782 electric vans cited by Dataforce refer exclusively to battery-electric drivetrains.
The absolute volume is even higher in France, according to ACEA figures. From January to September, 34,355 externally chargeable vans were newly registered there, a 33.3% increase. Spain recorded 16,792 units, up 41.5%, while the Netherlands reached 14,556 vehicles with a growth of 22.8%.
Some smaller markets are growing at an even faster percentage rate. For example, Portugal increased the number of externally chargeable vans by 146.6% to 6,039 units. In Poland, registrations rose by 78.6% to 2,731 vehicles, and in the Czech Republic by 74.8% to 1,748 units. However, these markets still have significantly lower absolute volumes compared to Germany or France.
Looking beyond the EU, the trend continued in the UK. In the first nine months, 37,133 externally chargeable vans were newly registered there, 34.2% more than the previous year. Across the entire European market—comprising the EU, EFTA and the UK—the number of these vehicles increased by 35.8% to 203,160 units.
Despite this growth, the van market remains far from majority electrification. More than three-quarters of all new light commercial vehicles in the EU still run on diesel. However, the latest German October figures suggest that the battery-electric share is now increasing noticeably faster in individual markets.
