DEMAND for light commercial vehicles across Europe pushed sales figures up by more than 7% for the first three months of the year.

Figures produced by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), show the highest growth compared to the same period last year was achieved in Sweden (+24.5%) and Denmark (+23.9%). Germany (+18.3%) was the best performer among the top five markets.

Country		Jan-Mar 06		Jan-Mar 05		variance
Austria		7,072		6,272		12.8%
Belgium		18,086		18,001		0.5%
Denmark		15,095		12,183		23.9%
Finland		4,376		3,902		12.1%
France		116,360		109,082		6.7%
Germany		46,280		39,114		18.3%
Greece		6,779		6,125		10.7%
Ireland		18,433		15,877		16.1%
Italy*		55,430		53,598		3.4%
Luxembourg		812		833		-2.5%
Netherlands		20,528		22,200		-7.5%
Portugal		16,839		17,148		-1.8%
Spain		99,731		91,151		9.4%
Sweden		8,833		7,097		24.5%
United Kingdom		87,384		85,877		1.8%
European Union		522,038		488,460		6.9%
Iceland		675		398		69.6%
Norway		9,582		7,903		21.2%
Switzerland		5,276		5,337		-1.1%
EFTA		15,533		13,638		13.9%
Western Europe		537,571		502,098		7.1%