NEW light van sales figures across Europe for the year to date show a 5% rise compared to the same period last year.

Figures show that sales reached 1,717,060 units between January and October, up from 1,634,684 during the same period last year.

A spokesman for the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), which released the figures, said: ‘Apart from Belgium (-3.3%), Portugal (-4.3%) and the Netherlands (-5.5%), all the other markets remained on the positive trend, with two-digit growth in Germany (+10.4%), Denmark (+14%) and Sweden (+17.1%).’

Country Jan-Oct 06 Jan-Oct 05 Variance
Austria 25,483 24,428 4.3%
Belgium 50,111 51,795 -3.3%
Denmark 50,808 44,579 14.0%
Finland 13,049 11,933 9.4%
France 362,665 347,012 4.5%
Germany 156,599 141,834 10.4%
Greece 19,869 19,425 2.3%
Ireland 38,580 35,276 9.4%
Italy* 189,433 173,919 8.9%
Luxembourg 2,628 2,622 0.2%
Netherlands 56,942 60,.231 -5.5%
Portugal 52,234 54,595 -4.3%
Spain 334,913 315,882 6.0%
Sweden 31,865 27,221 17.1%
UK 278,098 275,214 1.0%
European Union 1,663,277 1,585,966 4.9%
Iceland 2,116 1,705 24.1%
Norway 32,219 28,471 13.2%
Switzerland 19,448 18,542 4.9%
EFTA 53,783 48,718 10.4%
Western Europe 1,717,060 1,634,684 5.0%