European CarManufacturers also sold fewer commercial vehicles in October. Especially the demand for light businessCarWeakness continues, reports the European Trade Association for the CarIndustry ACEA. Light commercial vehicles make up a large part of total sales.

The total number of registered company cars fell last month by 8.5 percent to 132,360 units. Since the turn of the year, the number of commercial vehicles sold has been almost 17 percent lower than in the same period of the previous year.

Fewer commercial vehicles sold

Manufacturers sold almost 14 percent fewer units of light commercial vehicles such as vans. Heavy and medium-sized trucks were registered almost a fifth more often. Sales of buses increased by a quarter compared to the previous month. This increase was followed by four months of continuous decline.

That CarThe industry has been struggling with parts shortages for some time, especially chips. But the worst bottlenecks seem to be over. It usually takes a while before the lighting in the production process is reflected in the sales figures.

More cars sold

Although fewer company cars were sold, passenger cars fared better. Almost 746,000 new cars were sold in the EU in October, more than 12 percent more than in the same month of 2021.

Almost 29,000 new cars were sold in the Netherlands in October, around 20 percent compared to the same month last year. Dealers in Germany and France also did good business. Here, sales rose by 16.8 or 5.5 percent compared to the same month last year.

Volkswagen top-selling car manufacturer in the EU

Volkswagen was the EU’s top-selling automaker last month. The brand sold more than 85,000 passenger cars. An increase of 37 percent compared to the same month last year.