New registrations of commercial vehicles in the EU were up 3% in July and 15.7% in August, leading to an 8.3% increase over the two summer months compared to the same period last year.

From January to August, a total of 1,261,244 new commercial vehicles were registered across the region, or 12.1% more than in the first eight months of 2010.

Most major markets posted growth, ranging from 6.4% in France to 21.1% in the UK and 23.3% in Germany. Spain was the only one to contract with a 6.3% fall.

In July, new light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes amounted to 114,947 units, or 0.4% less than in the same month last year.

Of the major markets, Germany was the only one to expand, up by 20.9%, while France was down by 12%, Spain fell by 3.3% and the UK contracted by 0.8%.

In August, growth prevailed in all significant markets, ranging from 5.4% in France to 12.6% in Spain, 22.8% in the UK and 25.3% in Germany.

Overall, the EU recorded 14.4% more vans than in August 2010. Eight months into the year, a total of 1,034,168 new vans were registered in the region, or 8.3% more than in the same period last year. While the Spanish market shrank by 10.4%, the French market grew by 3%, the German by 20.6% and the British by 20.9%.