12:42 pm, March 6, 2023
The LCV market grew by 8.5 per cent in February with 17,540 units sold, figures published today by the SMMT show.
It was the second month in a row that the sector enjoyed an increase and the best February performance since 1998 – the year before the bi-annual plate change came in – when 18,044 vans were sold.
However, battery-electric vans suffered a massive decline, dropping by 44.5 per cent to 966 units.
The SMMT said the month’s traditionally smaller volumes were exacerbated by natural fluctuations in fleet investment.
And with more new models on their way, the SMMT expects growth to resume – the latest market outlook is for electrified van registrations to go up by 64.5 per cent to some 28,000 units in 2023.
LCV registrations overall for the year to date are up by 17.5 per cent on the same period in 2022 and up by 5.3 per cent on the pre-pandemic first two months of 2020.
The SMMT said this reflected demand for these critical vehicles from key sectors.
Registrations of vans weighing greater than 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes rose by 14 per cent to 12,125 units – more than two-thirds (69.1 per cent) of the total market.
Meanwhile, sales of vans weighing up to and including 2.0 tonnes went up by 5.2 per cent.
But sales of medium-sized vans weighing greater than 2.0 to 2.5 tonnes fell by 16.5 per cent to 3,361 units, which the SMMT said reflected the broader long-term trend towards larger units.
The smaller volume pick-up and 4×4 utility segments both saw double-digit growth – up 42.3 per cent and 90.8 per cent respectively.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘Following a torrid 2022, the UK van market is returning to sustained growth that is exceeding even pre-pandemic levels.
‘Given the importance of vans to keeping the British economy and society on the move, this growth is good news.
‘With the ZEV [zero-emission vehicles] market still at a very early stage, however, a concerted effort by all stakeholders to accelerate van-suitable chargepoint installation must become an urgent priority, enabling long-term net zero fleet investment at the scale necessary.’
The top three sellers among vans weighing up to 3.5 tonnes were the Ford Transit Custom (2,573), its Transit sibling (1,529) and the Vauxhall Vivaro (1,203), pictured at top.
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