October 26 (SeeNews) - Total registrations of new commercial vehicles in Bulgaria decreased by an annual 14.6% to 6,618 in the first nine months of 2022, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, ACEA, said on Wednesday.
Registrations of light commercial vehicles, or those up to 3.5 tonnes, slipped 31.8% on the year to 3,612 in the January-September period, ACEA said in a press release.
Over the same period, registrations of new medium and heavy commercial vehicles of over 3.5 tonnes jumped by 24.3% to 2,885.
In September alone, total new commercial vehicles registered in Bulgaria were 20.6% fewer than a year ago, reaching 636. Registrations of light commercial vehicles slumped 41.3% in September to 303.
By contrast, newly-registered medium and heavy commercial vehicles in the ninth month of 2022 were 22.8% more, or 329.
In the EU as a whole, new commercial vehicle registrations were in decline for the fifteenth month in a row, dropping by 6.6% since August to 133,873 despite despite a strong rebound in truck registrations, ACEA said.
The annual decline was 17.6%, with EU registrations reaching some 1.18 million at end-September, with the four largest markets -- France, Germany, Italy and Spain -- all recording negative results.
Across the EU12, which comprises member states that have joined the EU since 2004, total registrations declined 9.0% on the year to 172,966 in the January-September period. This was, however, offset by a 0.1% rise to 19,678 in the ninth month of 2022.