The UK’s light commercial vehicle (LCV) market hit a major milestone in September, recording its largest monthly increase in four years.
According to new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), 48,455 new vans, pick-ups, and 4x4s were registered, an impressive 8.3% boost compared to the previous year. With 267,339 new LCVs on the road so far in 2024, the industry is now showing a 3.6% year-on-year growth, its strongest performance since 2019.
This surge was driven largely by demand for small and medium vans, which saw registrations soar by over 34%. Ford remains a dominant force, with its Transit Custom leading the way as the UK’s most popular van, contributing significantly to Ford’s one-third market share.
But while the van market as a whole is booming, the transition to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) isn't going as smoothly - despite some tempting lease deals on electric eLCVs.
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September marked the fourth consecutive month of declining BEV registrations, with numbers slipping by 0.5%. Only 3,020 new electric vans were registered, leaving the total for the year 7.7% lower than 2023. At just 5.3% of the overall market, the push toward electric vans is falling short of the UK’s ambitious zero-emission goals, which call for 10% of all new LCVs to be electric by year’s end.
Despite significant investments from manufacturers in electric technology, the SMMT is calling for urgent government action to reverse the trend. They’ve asked the Chancellor to extend the Plug-in Van Grant beyond 2025, equalise VAT on public and home charging, and set concrete infrastructure targets to support operators, especially those without home charging options.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive: “Growing overall demand for new vans is encouraging as the sector, a barometer of the UK economy’s health, continues to recover post Covid. But while manufacturers have invested huge sums delivering zero emission technology and incentivising its sale, consistently low demand is constraining industry from meeting Britain’s ambitious zero emission vehicles sales mandates. For van fleets to go green at pace they need the immediate encouragement – and long-term certainty – of fiscal incentives and van-specific charging infrastructure. Without these, UK decarbonisation ambitions cannot be achieved at the world-leading speed demanded by regulation.”
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