11:27 am, July 5, 2022
The new LCV market fell for the sixth month running in June – dropping by 23 per cent on last year’s figure to 26,443 units, according to SMMT data released today.
It rounded off a challenging first half of the year, said the trade body, which stated that 144,384 new vans, pick-ups and 4x4s were registered in the first six months of 2022.
That was down by almost a quarter (24.6 per cent) versus the same period last year, amid the ongoing global supply chain shortages, including semiconductors.
The SMMT said the half-year decline was partly made worse by comparison with 2021, which saw the third best start to a year as pent-up demand for online delivery vehicles and a bounce-back in the construction sector boosted registrations.
It said that while demand had been robust for most of 2022 so far, components shortages had affected deliveries and lead times, with the market remaining 26.5 per cent below the 2019 pre-pandemic level of 196,418 units and decreases in registrations across all segments.
The Ford Transit Custom was the month’s best-selling model at 3,707 units, followed by its Transit stablemate at 3,531 and the Vauxhall Vivaro, pictured at top, at 1,878.
Growth in battery electric vans (BEVs) continued in June, rising by 52.4 per cent to 2,015 units.
The SMMT said that was a trend seen across the first six months of 2022, with registrations at 8,100 units – a 60 per cent increase on the same period last year.
However, BEVs still only represent one in 13 new van registrations in the UK this year.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘The impact of the global shortage of semiconductors is severe, constraining supplies and extending lead times for commercial vehicles.
Source: SMMT
‘While electric vehicle registrations are growing in response to an ever wider choice of plug-in models, a successful transition means accelerating uptake at pace, and this task could not come at a more difficult time.
‘With inflation and energy costs hitting the pockets of UK van buyers, as well as the industry, operators need to be assured that charging infrastructure can meet their needs and that fiscal and grant incentives are in place for the long term.’
