Truck registrations will rise again in April 2024

In April 2024, Italian registrations of industrial vehicles with a total mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes show a double-digit increase compared to the previous month, after a March in red. Unrae reports that the DMV has registered 2,340 units. But the trend varies according to the weight category. The best performances come from the lightest range, the one above 16 tonnes, which grew by as much as 22.8% in April. The intermediate segment (from 3.51 to 6 tonnes) shows slight growth (2%), while the intermediate range (from 6.1 to 16 tonnes) remains in the red (-2.8%). Considering the first quarter, the entire sector registered 10,168 units, with an increase of 8.5% compared to the same period in 2023.

Paolo Starace, president of the Industrial Vehicles Section of Unrae, warns however that “the good result in April should not be misleading since, in a context in which demand remains limited and delivery times have normalized, the volumes of registrations are mainly the result of the disposal of vehicle stocks at the distribution networks. Therefore, the volumes expressed are not to be taken as a reference for the real state of health of the market”.

Concerns therefore remain for the rest of the year: “Once this phase is over, if the necessary support for the sector is lacking, the already feared risk is that we will see a decline in volumes market with a serious slowdown in orders and sales levels. To date, in fact, we do not find adequate interventions to stimulate the sector other than in the promises of an electoral campaign which has already engaged political forces for some time and which further delays the adoption of the repeatedly hoped for measures”

Unrae then reiterates the need for structural interventions “coherent and consistent measures to encourage the ecological transition are even more urgent in light of the latest pronouncements of the European Parliament, which see the decarbonisation objectives for heavy vehicles raised as early as 2030, forcing manufacturers to introduce a significant share of zero-emission vehicles on the market to avoid serious sanctions for manufacturers with negative consequences on the ability to invest in new technologies and innovate”.