Commercial vehicles 2011: VDA expects a significant increase in 2011

'Although the pre-crisis level has not yet been reached, the upward trend is clearly recognizable', said association president Matthias Wissmann. A total of 380,000 vehicles could be produced, with impulses coming from abroad as well as from the home market. The growth in vans of five percent should therefore be somewhat weaker than the overall market.

Positive export development

The background is the somewhat more stable demand for delivery vans up to six tons. 'The crisis was much more pronounced for the heavy trucks than for the vans,' explained Wissmann. This segment is still a long way from the pre-crisis level, but is back on the road to success faster than expected.

In the past year, exports in particular have developed positively. The German commercial vehicle manufacturers recorded an increase of 46 percent to 160,000 vehicles for vans, while exports of heavy trucks rose by as much as 65 percent to 70,000. In 2011, Wissmann expects global sales of commercial vehicles to grow by eight percent to 3.1 million units, with China remaining the dominant market.

German car manufacturers, pioneers in climate protection for cars

For cars Wissmann sees German manufacturers and suppliers as pioneers in climate protection. 'In all ten vehicle classes - from the smallest car to the family van - we have a lower CO2 cut than the importers,' said the VDA boss of the 'Passauer Neue Presse'. He considers the federal government's goal of putting one million electric cars on the road by 2020 'an ambitious but achievable goal'. Above all, it is important that the price difference between electric cars and vehicles with combustion engines is reduced.