Small businesses can make a meal of the new Combo

Combo: Vauxhall's new small van debuts at CV Show end of April and is looking good proposition for small businesses

Author: Robin Roberts

Demand for new commercial vehicles was down an overall 11.3% in the EU in February.

The downturn ranged from 3.2% in France, to 6.9% in Germany, 16.6% in the UK, 24.4% in Spain and 29.8% in Italy.

In total, 126,010 new vehicles were registered in the month, which counted on average one more working day across the EU than February last year.

From January to February, markets in Germany (-1.9%) and France (-2.5%) slightly contracted, while the UK (-11.5%), Spain (-22.9%) and Italy (-30.5%) faced double-digit downturns.

Overall, the EU recorded 267,111 new commercial vehicles, or 7.9% less than in the first two months of 2011.

One of the real surprises of the month was an almost doubling of UK bus and coach registrations of 91.8% while truck plating rose 24.5% and were countered by a 26.4% drop in van sales in the month in Britain.

The new Vauxhall Combo will make its UK debut at April’s CV Show in the NEC.

It will be shown in all three wheelbase and roof height combinations. With a payload of up to one tonne and a driving range of up to 777 miles thanks to its frugal engines, New Combo has already proved that it is a great proposition for van operators and particularly small fleet operators who are keen to keep down their business van costs.