The UK van market grew in November, with 27,433 vans and pickups registered with customers.

Marking the 11th month of consecutive growth, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) figures show a 12.7% increase in registrations over the same month last year, with a 19.8% rise for the year to date. For the 11 months of 2023 so far, 311,754 vans and pickups have been registered, against a figure of 260,315 at this point last year.

Vans up to 3.5 tonnes continue to dominate the sales, but more compact van sales are growing rapidly, with those between 2.0 and 2.5 tonnes increasing by 76.6% in 2023 and rising by 161.1% in November.

Sales of electric vans fell back slightly for the second month but are still higher for the year than in 2022, by 15%. The Vauxhall Vivaro Electric was, once again, the best-selling eLCV. With its electric Cargo and Movano models combined with Vivaro Electric sales, Vauxhall took 28.5% of the e-LCV market.

Overall, the Ford Transit Custom dominated the month’s sales chart, with 3,266 registrations, ahead of the larger Ford Transit with 2,222 registrations. The Vauxhall Vivaro was the third best-seller, followed by the Ford Ranger pickup. The November positions are reflected in the year-to-date charts, too.

Pickup sales continue to rise, up 30.6% on a supply-constrained 2022, although, with 35,649 sales to date, it’s still some way behind the highs of 2019 — the last full year of sales before the Covid pandemic hit.

“An eleventh month of growth in Britain’s van sector is hugely positive, especially given fleet renewal is key to decarbonisation,” commented Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive. “It is crucial that operator demand also translates to zero-emission van uptake, driving down CO2 emissions to meet Britain’s ambitious environmental targets. These are severely threatened by Rules of Origin requirements due in less than four weeks, so it is essential that a pragmatic solution is found, and fast.”

Phil Huff
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