SALES of new light commercial vehicles across Western Europe for the first six months of the year are up by 4% on last year.

Sweden led the sales growth in the EU-15, reporting an increase of 16.7%, according to figures produced by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). The biggest fall was noted in the Netherlands, where sales were down by 25.1%

Country		Jan-Jun 06		Jan-Jun 05		Variance
Austria		15,523		14,753		5.2%
Belgium		33,692		35,927		-6.2%
Denmark		30,840		27,04		14.1%
Finland		8,305		7,749		7.2%
France		234,771		225,637		4.0%
Germany		97,427		84,878		14.8%
Greece		12,627		11,895		6.2%
Ireland		29,210		26,591		9.8%
Italy*		121,925		109,379		11.5%
Luxembourg		1,679		1,634		2.8%
Netherlands		36,984		49,379		-25.1%
Portugal		32,765		35,195		-6.9%
Spain		208,846		198,779		5.1%
Sweden		19,694		16,871		16.7%
UK		168,057		168,305		-10.1%
European Union		1,052,345		1,014,012		3.8%
Iceland		1,339		1,019		31.3%
Norway		19,214		16,771		14.6%
Switzerland		12,017		11,273		6.6%
EFTA		32,570		29,063		12.1%
Western Europe		1,084,915		1,043,075		4.0%