Vans remain the most popular class of commercial vehicle in operation, comprising 4,804,833 units, up 4.3% from 2020. The segment has enjoyed continuous growth since 2010 but fleet renewal has slowed. The average van on UK roads is now a record 8.7 years old, although there are significant regional variations.
One of the main reasons for the slower uptake of EVs is the initial financial commitment for the consumer and the delay in introducing new electric vehicle models for LCVs. LCV buyers are driven by costs and viability, particularly business owners, with current Government grants not yet compensating the price variation between fossil fuel and EVs to support the transition
The latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders saw new LCV registrations decreased by 27.6% in March to 40,613 units. Following the fall in the important plate change month of March, the market is now 23.6% below last year.
Heavy vans weighing more than 2.5 -3.5 tonnes declined by 9.9% to 10,638 units despite robust demand, as supply constraints continue to affect the market. Small vans under 2.0 tonnes decreased by 52.2% whilst pickups were down by 36.0%. Demand for 4x4s rose by 49.0% although these represent a small proportion of the overall market (76 units).
While it was the weakest start to a year since 2013, January has historically been a volatile month due to the intermittent nature of fleet renewal. The decline follows what was the best January for 31 years in 2021, when new models and compelling deals saw registrations reach 24,029 units, up 2.0% even on a pre-pandemic January 2020.
The robustness of the LCV market was due in part to strong underlying demand from key sectors – notably construction and home deliveries – with significant fleet investments resulting in 62,723 more units being registered in the last year than in 2020. This performance is only marginally weaker than the strong 2019 market (2.8%) and the five-year pre-Covid average (-3.0%)
The number of vans rose 11.4% on the pre-pandemic average for November, following two previous months of decline. With the sector still suffering from significant semiconductor shortages, stability of supply remains a key issue and market volatility is likely to be a feature well into 2022.
Despite a second consecutive month of decline – albeit not as steep a fall as in September – the sector remains 2.3% up on the five-year pre-pandemic average for the month of October, with 2021 proving to be a strong year for LCV sales to date.
While year to date registrations remain some 4.0% below 2019’s record levels, 2021 is proving to be a bumper year for van uptake, up some 2.6% on the five-year average. However, the semi-conductor shortage has impacted CV manufacturing both in the UK – where output is currently down 21.3% on the pre-pandemic average – and overseas, meaning the sector faces the same ongoing supply challenges already much reported in the new car market.
The month’s performance was down 13.9% on 2019, a shortfall of some 5,566 units as supply shortages – notably of semi-conductors – affected production volumes and caused delays in the market. Nevertheless, van registrations remain up 14.4% on Covid-impacted 2020.
Latest figures from the SMMT show that registrations grew across all vehicle segments, with the total number of units quadrupling on last year’s lockdown-impacted figures. Demand for larger 2.5-3.5 tonne vans drove the increase, comprising two thirds of all registrations, some 19,687 vans.
Growth was primarily driven by a sustained increase in larger van acquisition, with vans weighing more than 2.5-3.5 tonnes accounting for 20,037 registrations. So far in 2021, heavy van registrations have almost doubled compared to the same period in 2020, up to 84,374 compared with 42,749 recorded in the first four months of last year. As a result, SMMT’s latest outlook for the sector forecasts that around 369,000 vans will be registered in 2021.
Usually one of the busiest months of the year, March saw the largest ever increase since the switch to the two plate system in 1999, but one which still represented an 10.9% decrease when compared to the pre-pandemic 2015-2019 average, as prolonged nationwide lockdown continued to suppress business confidence in the first quarter of the year
Although van showrooms have been closed to retail customers over the past two months, a significant proportion of commercial vehicles sales are generally transacted through the phone and online, which allowed businesses to flourish despite the restrictions affecting physical premises.
Van sales continue to be driven by increased deliveries during lockdown and the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). registrations rose 2% in January with 24,029 hitting UK roads as new models and deals drove fleet renewal.
