Sales of Pickups in Europe at their lowest level since 2022

• The consumers in Europe continue to prefer vans.
• The pickup market in the continent is just a marginal fraction of what they represent in USA.
• The segment is dominated by non-European brands.

Frankfurt, Germany – The drivers in Europe simply don’t like pickup trucks. It has been a reality for many years and the results for the first half of 2026 just confirm that. The latest report from Dataforce for 33 markets (EU-26 + UK + EFTA + Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, and Turkey) shows that the demand for this type of light commercial vehicles is declining.

The sales of pickups between January and June 2026 fell by 15% compared to the same period of last year. The market sold a total of 65,824 units, down from 77,250 in H1 2025. That was the worst result since H1 2022 when the region sold 58,938 units.

The negative result is mainly explained by the big drop posted by the registrations in the United Kingdom, where the volume fell from 21,039 units in H1 2025 to just 9,522 units this year through June. The rise on the tax burden following the new rules about 1-tonne payload pickups that are now considered company vehicles instead of light commercial vehicles is behind the big drop.

In fact, the UK came from being the largest pickup market in Europe by far to be outsold by Germany this year. The decrease of 55% on registrations there was enough to offset the gains seen in Italy (+3%) and Spain (+43%). Sales also increased in Bulgaria (+62%), Cyprus (+74%), Norway (+60%), Portugal (+53%), Serbia (+53%), and Switzerland (+30%).

Just a fraction of the demand in USA
The pickup landscape in Europe contrasts with the one seen in the United States, the world’s largest pickup market. Although the classification of pickups changes according to the market, the figures show that the European sales represented around 4% of the total sales in USA during H1 2026.

One reason for this big difference is that the goods among the European cities are usually transported in vans instead of pickups, which are usually bigger, more expensive, and more fuel-consumption vehicles. Instead, in USA, the pickups are roughly associated to the transport of goods, but more to recreational vehicles that are increasingly trendy.

A tiny market dominated by foreign brands
The marginal size of the pickup segment in Europe does not leave room for all the car makers. Only 8 brands sold more than 1,000 units of these vehicles in H1 2026. Only one of them is a European brand – Volkswagen. With 42% share, Ford leads the segment thanks to the Ranger, Europe’s top-selling pickup. However, a year ago its market share was 46%. In contrast, others like KGM from Korea and the Chinese brands have gained traction. In fact, the latter’s market share soared from 3.9% in H1 2025 to 8.6% in H1 2026. Foton was the Chinese top-selling pickup brand, followed by Maxus and JAC.

The top selling models.

A total of 45 models registered at least one unit during the first half, but only 8 of them sold more than 1,000 units, representing 94% of the total market. The double-digit drops posted by the four leaders – Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, Isuzu DMax, and Volkswagen Amarok – were followed by big gains from the KGM Musso, Foton Tunland, and Maxus T60.

You can find out more about the development of the Commercial Vehicles market in Europe in June 2026 by clicking here.