Forget the so-called 'white van driver' - because the colour BRONZE is becoming more and more popular in the UK when it comes to light commercial vehicles, according to new stats.
White-coloured light commercial vehicles have long dominated UK roads.
But that all might be about to change,
Stats from the DVLA, highlighted by Select Van Leasing, show registrations of white light commercial vehicles have decreased by 34 per cent over the past five years.
During the same period those of bronze-coloured small vans have shot up by a staggering 215 per cent - making it the fastest growing shade across the board.
Darren Jasper, head of commercial vehicle leasing at Select Van Leasing, which unearthed the data via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, said:
“The shift in shades doesn't quite sound the death knell for the popular term ‘White Van Man’, but the landscape is definitely changing when it comes to the most popular LCV colours.
"And it could actually be a really good thing. The phrase 'white van man' sometimes comes with wholly-unjustified negative connotations - and also completely neglects the UK's committed army of female van drivers.
"If terminology like that changes to reflect the professionalism of the industry in general, then that would be welcomed.
"Stereotypes around van drivers are certainly out-dated. Just look at a survey by Mercedes Benz last year that found that 43 per cent of van owners are now women, while a third prefer yoga and gym workouts to traditional fry-ups!"
The DVLA figures cover the period from January 2018 to December last year. Vehicles included were in tax classes 39 (Light Goods Vehicle) and 36 (Euro 4/5 Light Goods Vehicle).
Examples include the Ford Transit, Renault Trafic and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.
The number of white models first taxed in 2018 was 187,260, but by the first 11 months of 2022 that had dipped to 122,795.
Silver models went from 43,410 down to 14,985, while black van numbers descended from 31,198 in 2018 to 18,263 this year.
Meanwhile, bronze was the only colour to see a rise - from 209 five years ago to 658 in 2022.
Select Van Leasing’s Mr Jasper added:
“Of course, white vans are still by far the most popular on UK roads.
“Our research found that on November 13 last year there were more than 2.2million taxed white LGVs in this country.
“The next most popular colours were silver (484,773), grey (429,68) and black (322,793).”
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