Medium and commercial vehicle and bus import and export value in Europe 2021

From January to December 2021, the European Union imported some 7.1 billion euros worth of medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) - vehicles weighing more than five metric tons - and buses, while exporting 12.96 billion euros worth of vehicles in return.

MHCV and buses: international trade was a profitable market

Over the course of the past four years, the EU bus and MHCV market has seen a consistently positive trade balance which amounted to some 3.9 billion euros in the first eleven months of 2020. The trade surplus came amid a drop in both imports and exports from the previous year due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic which led to a slow-down of manufacturing plants' activities and tepid demand in a time of global economic uncertainty.

The leading source of exports was intra-Europe trade

Turkey was the main country of origin for the European Union's commercial vehicle imports, dwarfing other countries by taking up more than half the European trade in value. This was due in part to the wide number of manufacturing plants owned by European manufacturers in the country. By contrast, countries from the European Free Trade Association and former EU-members were the leading destinations for MHCV exports. The United Kingdom had the highest trade in value, followed by Norway and Switzerland. This showcases the importance of trade partners in European territories outside the EU for the Union.