The truck market - France (2024)

1.2 The global truck market

The global truck market is growing steadily, thanks to the development of the construction and logistics sectors, as well as e-commerce sales, which contribute to the demand for trucks.

For trucks with a tonnage of over *.* tonnes, the market was estimated to be worth $*** billion in ****. With an estimated average annual growth rate of *.*% until ****, it should reach over $*** billion in **** .

evolution of the global truck market (***) World, ****-****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers publishes annual vehicle production statistics, segmented by car and commercial vehicle. This enables us to analyze the production volumes and market shares of the various countries.

World production of medium and heavy trucks World, ****-****, in millions of units Source: ****

Europe is taking advantage of its know-how to be at the forefront of technological innovations in terms of electric vehicles and autonomous trucks, which are contributing to the market's dynamism. Logistics platforms are also moving towards greater digitalization, changing the structure of the truck market with more and more large fleets. Although China is the biggest market in terms of volume, accounting for **% of new truck launches.

1.3 The French truck market

The French truck market is extremely dynamic. It encompasses a wide variety of products, and we're particularly interested in :

Straight trucks: cab and body or platform are mounted on the same chassis. They include tankers, concrete mixers, container carriers, machine carriers, vans (***), tippers, etc. Road tractors: motor vehicles without bodies, fitted with a towing device for semi-trailers; Heavy trailers: non-motorized goods vehicles with front and rear axles. GVW > * tonnes; Semi-trailers: non-powered vehicles with wheels at the rear only.

Light vans and trailers and specialized self-propelled vehicles are not included in this study. The general French HGV market had been growing steadily since **** and until the Covid-** crisis. Between **** and ****, the market suffered a global freeze due to the health crisis and a halt in activities, which froze the upstream truck production chain. Since then, the market has struggled to recover, despite still showing relative growth.

Annual registrations of new vehicles in France France, ****, in number of registrations Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion

The new HGV fleet comprises trucks, tractor units and heavy-duty Specialized Automobiles (***). the total number of registrations is set to reach **,*** vehicles in ****, up **.*% on ****. Trucks specifically account for **% of the total, and the number of registrations ...

1.4 The repair and spare parts market

The truck repair and spare parts market is also very dynamic. Even though the number of trucks on the road is declining slightly (***), the number of heavy goods vehicles on the road in France is increasing, driving growth in the sector's maintenance and repair business.

The number of HGVs (***) increased by *% between **** and ****. Growth is less significant than for passenger cars, for example, but gives positive signals for the future of the sector. The sector is also moving upmarket, requiring more maintenance per vehicle as the years go by.

Number of trucks in service France, ****-****, in thousands Source: ****

INSEE refers to the activity of truck repairers under NAF code "**.**B", which includes the maintenance and repair of trucks, trailers, semi-trailers, motorhomes and caravans.

Sales for the latter grew by **% between **** and ****. Sales are growing faster than the number of vehicles on the road.

Truck repairer sales France, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****

The maintenance-repair market plays a key role in dealers' financial health. In fact, according to a Gipa study, **% of workshop entries for repairs to trucks, buses and trailers were at dealerships, **% at agents (***) [***].The reactivity of the repair market following the Covid-** crisis is noteworthy, since it ...

1.5 Foreign trade in trucks and related products

To study foreign trade in trucks, we'll be using Harmonized System code ****, which designates motor vehicles for the transport of goods, including chassis with engine and cab. The scope of this code is slightly broader than that of our study, as it includes vehicles of all weights, including those under *.* tonnes.

Foreign trade in goods vehicles France, ****-****, in billions of US dollars Source: ****

France will enjoy a surplus in truck trade in ****. Exports will amount to $**.* billion, compared with $*.* billion for imports in ****. France therefore exports **% more goods vehicles than it imports.

France's foreign trade in goods vehicles was particularly dynamic between **** and ****, with exports up **.*% over the period and imports up **.*%. There's a big dip in **** and ****, before exports return to significant levels in **** and a record high in ****.

During the Covid, exports were more resilient than imports. They recorded an **% drop between **** and **** when imports fell by **%, but they also mark a greater response to the exit from the crisis, with **% more exports in **** than in **** and a CAGR (***) of **.**%, while imports recovered to an annual growth rate of *.**% between **** and ****.

In ****, Germany is the main importer of French trucks. It accounts for **% of exports, compared with **% for ...

2.1 The different truck-using sectors

Trucks are used for a variety of purposes, depending on their specific characteristics. The first is road freight transport, which accounts for **.*% of the truck and tractor fleet. Next come construction (***), but rather as a distribution channel.

Truck and tractor fleets, by user sector France, January ****, in Source: ****

Other sectors (***) account for a minority share of the truck fleet.

2.2 Road freight has a direct impact on truck demand

As mentioned above, road freight is the number one customer for trucks in France.

The number of new registrations is therefore directly linked to its good health. After a reduction in freight activity between **** and ****, new truck registrations fell.

Subsequently, with the number of tons transported per kilometer increasing (***) by **% between **** and **** before falling again during the Covid. We note that demand for trucks evolves more than proportionally in comparison with variations in road freight.

Post-Covid recovery is slow but certain, with new truck registrations up **% between **** and ****, and road freight up *% between **** and ****. **** was a tough year for road freight, with declines in the food (***) sectors, which do not yet seem to have had an impact on the number of HGVs registered. A delayed impact may be expected in ****.

Truck demand therefore appears to be directly linked to road freight activity. Logically, the number of truck registrations increases when more goods are transported on French roads, and vice versa.

trends in road freight and registrations of trucks, tractor units, trailers and semi-trailers France, ****-****, in billions of tonne-km, in thousands of units Source: ****

2.3 The construction industry, a major outlet for trucks

The construction industry is one of the main markets for trailer manufacturers, due to the need to transport bulky goods. Some trucks, such as concrete mixers or tippers, are also used directly on construction sites.

growth in building sales France, ****-****, index base *** **** Source: ****

The sector is a real growth driver for trucks. Indeed, despite a *% slowdown in activity between **** and ****, players saw their sales increase by **% from **** to ****. This growth is driving that of trucks and similar products, whose number of new registrations rose by **% over the same period. Growth in both sectors is once again correlated with the day after Covid, as shown in the graph above.

Batiproduits lists the various construction trucks available and their uses, from simple tipper trucks to heavy-duty long-haulage vehicles. Each vehicle must be adapted to its intended use, in terms of load capacity, power and performance.

2.4 Retail and the e-commerce boom

The retail trade is also an important customer sector for trucks. As goods have to be transported, often over long distances, trucks are an essential part of the sector.

sales trends in non-specialized food retailing France, ****-****, index base *** **** Source: ****

Retail sales in non-specialized stores have risen by **% in ** years, and represent an opportunity for trucks. These include products such as refrigerated trucks, which are particularly in demand in supermarkets. By way of illustration, sales in frozen food retail outlets rose by **% between **** and ****.

E-commerce also contributes to the sector's growth. Between **** and ****, e-commerce sales will have risen by ***%, making it an integral part of French habits. This represents a significant source of growth for trucks, since instead of having to travel to the point of purchase, goods are delivered directly to the customer by truck. This replaces the warehouse-to-store route for a large proportion of sales, but increases the number of kilometers covered by transporters, as it multiplies the number of goods delivery points .

A nuance is in order, however, as some of these deliveries are made using vehicles other than trucks (***), particularly in cities where traffic can be complicated.

E-commerce sales France, ****-****, € billion Source: ****

2.5 The slowdown caused by covid-19

The Covid-** crisis had a major impact on the truck market. Factories were forced to close, and the sector suffered from reduced activity in customer sectors such as construction.

The number of registrations fell sharply from March **** during the containment period, and was halved in March **** compared with March ****. The slowdown became more pronounced in April, but the sector seems to have caught up, returning to comparable levels by July ****.

The start of **** was particularly dynamic compared with **** and ****, and every year the sector operates at low levels in August for the summer shutdowns.

monthly trend in commercial vehicle registrations France, ****-****, in number of vehicles Source: ****

monthly trend in truck registrations France, ****-****, in number of vehicles Source: ****

The Covid effect has, however, had long-term effects on the industry. Renault Trucks, for example, has announced the loss of *** jobs as a result of the slowdown in demand for commercial vehicles. [***]

Volkswagen-owned MAN also announced job cuts worldwide. The redundancies concerned *,*** people, or a quarter of the company's workforce. Relocations are to accompany the redundancy plan. [***]

3.1 Truck and heavy goods vehicle value chain

The truck market is primarily structured by producers of different nationalities, who produce a wide variety of products to meet different applications. The leading French producer is Renault Trucks.

Distribution is then more complex. It is carried out either through the manufacturer networks, or by independent dealers. There are also two modes of distribution: purchase or rental and sale.

Customers can either directly own their own fleet, or lease it to limit investment costs.

3.2 France's leading truck manufacturers

The data published by the CCFA on the market shares of the various manufacturers of commercial vehicles (***) enable us to analyze trends for the main players. for information, the CCFA counted **,*** registrations of this type of new vehicle in ****, i.e. over **% of the total number of HGVs analyzed in the first section.

Breakdown of commercial vehicle registrations in France, by manufacturer France, ****, in percent Source: ****

The commercial vehicle market is particularly concentrated. Indeed, * manufacturers account for **% of new registrations. Renault Trucks is the leading producer in France with **% of registrations, followed by DAF (***). The Volvo group is the leading manufacturer in France. It owns Renault Trucks and the Volvo brand, and accounts for **% of the market.

Renault Trucks has four production sites in France, at Blainville-sur-Orne, Limoges, Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse, with *,*** employees in industrial activities[***]

The Volkswagen group is a major market player, owning the MAN and Scania brands, which account for**% of new registrations .

3.3 Truck distribution

The truck wholesale and retail trade is recorded by INSEE under code **.**, which includes trucks, trailers and semi-trailers, as well as caravans and motor homes. The scope is therefore slightly broader than that of our study. This activity also includes the second-hand trade. Between **** and ****, sales by French distributors rose by **%.

Truck trade sales France, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****

If we look at the number of employees and companies in the sector, we can confirm the dynamism of French distribution. Indeed, the number of employees rose by **% between **** and ****. The number of companies is not growing as steadily, but it has nevertheless risen by *% between **** and ****.

We can see that the workforce is growing faster than the number of companies, and the sector is therefore in a phase of concentration, with entities having more and more employees.

Number of companies and number of employees in the other vehicle trade France, ****-****, in number of companies and employees Source: ****

The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region has the highest number of employees in truck distribution, with *,*** employees in **** (***).

Truck distribution is divided between manufacturer networks (***). Independent dealers are more vulnerable to the crisis. They therefore need to reach a critical size, and the ...

3.4 Leasing with a purchase option is a preferred means of acquiring a fleet

Leasing with an option to purchase (***) in the form of leasing with purchase option, compared with only *** million for financial leasing and *** million for conventional loans.

Rent-to-own contracts are leasing contracts that offer the option of purchasing the asset at the end of the lease. Finance leases are transactions without a purchase option, in which the lessee chooses the supplier and the asset, and knows and, if necessary, negotiates the price himself. Contracts of this type are concluded for an irrevocable term, the rental payments are independent of the use of the equipment, and the lessee must return the equipment at the end of the contract.

Data for the financing of commercial vehicles alone are not available, but the data for automotive financing as a whole give a significant indication of the trend:

Breakdown of vehicle financing by specialized institutions France, ****, in L'argus

In ****, LOA contracts accounted for **% of new vehicle financing and **% of used vehicle financing in ****[***].

These statistics, however, represent only the contracts of financial companies that are members of the Association of Financial Companies.

The rental and leasing market is a significant one for distributors.

Truck rental and leasing sales France, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****

The ...

3.5 Used truck registrations

The used truck market is experiencing a rollercoaster ride, and after a significant drop in registrations in **** (***)

trend in registrations of used trucks, tractor units, heavy trailers and semi-trailers France, ****-****, in thousands of vehicles Source: ****

In terms of volume, the used truck market has historically been smaller than the new truck market. However, it has benefited from the coronavirus crisis, and from the financial difficulties of companies who have favored used equipment, which is less expensive to purchase. It accounts for almost half of all new vehicle registrations, and is therefore a major challenge for all distributors, even if it does not generate sales for automakers, who see it, on the contrary, as a direct competitor to new vehicles.

Breakdown of new and used vehicle registrations France, ****, in % of registrations Source: ****

4.1 Different types of trucks and heavy goods vehicles

As seen in *.*, trucks and heavy goods vehicles can be divided into * main categories:

Straight trucks ; Tractor units ; Heavy trailers ; Semi-trailers;

Each of these segments can then be broken down into several product categories with their own specific uses.

Straight trucks

Tipper trucks are used to transport bulk goods (***). Finally, trailer trucks are used to transport vehicles or equipment and machinery, while tanker trucks are used to transport liquids.

Breakdown of new truck registrations, by type France, ****, in percent Source: ****

The term PLSC refers to sliding flexible sidewalls.

Road tractors

Road tractors can be classified according to their Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (***).

Distribution of road tractor applications France, ****, % of total Source: ****

Heavy trailers

Heavy-duty trailers include flatbed trailers, vans (***), tarpaulins and PLSCs, tippers, container carriers and swap bodies, as well as machine and car carriers.

Heavy trailers can also be classified according to their Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (***).

A full study on trailers is available here.

4.2 Purchase price and annual cost

The CNR (***) publishes a cost price reference for certain trucks, road tractors and trailers, updated to December ****.

Source: ****

CNR also proposes a breakdown of all costs over a year of use for each of these different trucks.

We know the cost per kilometer of the essential elements for the use of the different types of truck. To these material costs must be added the cost of human resources (***) and insurance costs, the latter depending directly on the products transported and the regions crossed.

Cost price structure by vehicle type France, ****, in percent Source: ****

4.3 A range that's moving towards electric power and autonomy

Towards less polluting vehicles

The main challenge for truck manufacturers is to limit greenhouse gas emissions. While electric trucks are still in their infancy, brands are improving the environmental credentials of their vehicles.

Almost all trucks (***), which we have not included in this study.

Distribution of heavy goods vehicle fleet by Crit'air sticker France, ****, in Source: ****

Electric vehicles and those with Crit'air * stickers still represent a minority (***) and with a range of up to *** kilometers[***].

Since then, manufacturers have been increasingly quick to develop their electric ranges. Renault Trucks launched production and distribution in March ****. This was disrupted by Covid-**, but resumed this summer, with the first units delivered to the Delanchy and Suez groups. The brand produces a **-ton and a **-ton model at its Blainville-sur-Orne site. It hopes to achieve **% of its sales volumes from electric vehicles by ****. [***]

These vehicles are particularly eagerly awaited in cities, which are more compatible with the autonomy limits of electric vehicles. The Suez group is already using a Renault Trucks prototype for waste collection in the Île-de-France region.

The Tesla Semi electric truck is also due to hit the roads in late ****. With its futuristic curves, range of *** or *** kilometers and load capacity ...

5.1 Regulatory framework

Pollution standards

Euro *d Temp standard: European emission standards, known as Euro standards, are European Union regulations that set maximum pollutant emission limits for vehicles on the road. Euro *.* is also known as Euro *.d-TEMP. In January ****, it will be succeeded by Euro *.*, also known as Euro *.d or Euro *.d full. [***]

It will limit nitrogen oxide emissions to between ** and ** mg/km and carbon monoxide emissions to between *** and **** mg/km. The standard also calls for emissions to be measured in real-life driving conditions, with a limit for nitrogen oxides of *.* times the standard, i.e. *** mg/km for diesels. This prevents manufacturers from circumventing the protocol by installing pollution control systems calibrated for the test.

CO* emissions reduction agreement : this agreement sets a target of a **% reduction in emissions from new heavy-duty vehicles by ****, compared with ****. An intermediate target of **% is set for ****. [***]

The European pollution standard is set to be completely overhauled by **** or ****. In November ****, the European Commission met to lay the foundations of what will be the Euro * standard, which will succeed and supplant the Euro * standard.

Driving conditions

The Highway Code sets the authorized weight limits for vehicles on the road. The decree of December ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Volvo Group (Renault Trucks et Volvo Trucks)
• Volkswagen Group
• Daimler Trucks and Buses (Mercedes)
• Kertrucks Groupe
• Fuso
• Retrofleet
• Man truck
• Evobus France (Daimler Trucks)
• Paccar (DAF Trucks · Kenworth Trucks · Peterbilt Trucks)
• DAF Trucks (Paccar group)
• Ford Trucks
• Traton (Scania, MAN, Navistar, and Volkswagen Truck & Bus)
• Renault Trucks (Volvo trucks)
• Gruau
• Eonnet Groupe
• Fraikin
• Petit Forestier
• Nikola
• Etalmobil
• The Truck Ccompany