Page 36 - Commercial Vehicle Engineer - June 2021

COMMERCIAL VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS
“As the country emerges from lockdown, the added confidence will hopefully help shift the gears from recovery to growth for the van market”
March is traditionally a busy month
for van sales, especially with the new 21 number plate, but this 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.
Despite all segments experiencing higher demand, total registrations fell a little short of industry expectations as the latest forecast predicted 360,000 LCVs registered by end of the year – well down on recent years.
Overall, growth was led by an increase in larger van registrations, as vans weighing 2.5-3.5 tonnes made up the majority of
the month’s figures, doubling to 36,032 vehicles. This continues to be driven by
the surge in internet shopping, and the resulting need for courier companies to deliver packages to customers.
Elsewhere in the sector, 4x4s have enjoyed strong growth, with sales up by 90.8% in the first three months of the
year to 813 units. Likewise, pickups have enjoyed strong growth, up 36.7% this year to 12,899 units. This could be down to businesses looking for smaller workhorses such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux, as well as the crossover leisure market. Some of these models have had updates in the previous 12 months to rejuvenate interest.
However, the one sector of the van market to fall was rigids between 3.5 and six tonnes, where sales have declined
by 31.1% on 2020. This continues an ongoing trend in this weight of vehicle, with operators preferring the size classes directly below and above.
Overall, the Ford Transit Custom has maintained its status as the biggest selling van in the UK in the first three months
of the year, selling 14,317 units, nearly 5,000 more than its nearest rival, the Ford Transit. The Transit itself has sold more than 3,000 more units than its nearest rivals, the Volkswagen Transporter and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. The Ford Ranger is the fifth-best selling LCV in the UK this year, demonstrating the strength of the pickup market, as mentioned earlier.
Hawes notes how these figures show the impact COVID had on the sector, and how far away the van market is from the growth it was enjoying before the pandemic hit. “However, as the country emerges from lockdown, vaccinations continue to roll out, and non-essential businesses reopen, the added confidence will hopefully help shift the gears from recovery to growth for the van market,” he says.
36 JUNE 2021 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER
Sales of pickups, such as the Ford Ranger, have been up by more than a third in 2021