LCV manufacturers appear to be worryingly far from the ZEV Mandate target of 10%. The SMMT reported that although electric van registrations rose fractionally in May the increase is not fast enough to hit the 2024 target.
However, data from pro-EV lobbying organisation New Automotive shows that while the total market is short on EVs, the majority of individual manufacturers are in a far better position. However, pulling the overall total down is Ford. Because Ford is so dominant in the market, with a 32% market share year-to-date, but in May sold only a 1% mix of electric vans.
By comparison, the next largest brand is Volkswagen. It had a 10% market share, with a recorded 9% EV mix for vans in May. Other brands that are close to the 10% mix include Vauxhall (8%), Peugeot (8%), and Citroen (8%).
Ford is not alone in having a lower EV share in May. Mercedes and Renault also had a poor month for e-LCV registrations.
New Automotive’s data does not correlate exactly with the SMMT as it uses different criteria and alternative sources, however, it is representative of wider trends in the market.
Like the car market, LCV brands will also be able to use the Vehicle Emission Trading Scheme to lower their 10% target by reducing their overall CO2. This should mean that most brands will be able to get away without having to pay fines for missing the target this year.
However, in Ford’s case, the manufacturer is counting on the arrival of the electric Transit Custom coupled to only offering terms to fleets that promise to take 10% EVs to recover its position this year.
Unlike the car side of the business, Ford’s commercial vehicles overall are experiencing a strong year with sales up nearly 7% to the end of May, thanks in part to the release of the new Transit Custom. However, this growth is expected to accelerate through the year as more Custom variants are added to the Transit line up, including the double-cab in van versions as well as a new Trail.
Total LCV market for May 2024
The overall new van market was up 1.95% in May taking the year-to-date figure to a 6.8% rise.
Ford saw the biggest unit rise in the month, up 938 vans, while Volkswagen, Vauxhall and Nissan all saw hikes of more than 300 vans.
At the other end of the chart, Citroen saw a 950-van decrease in May, taking it to a year-to-date drop of 1,502 LCVs.
Volume growth was fuelled mainly by an 8.1% increase in uptake of vans weighing more than 2.0t up to 2.5t. Light vans weighing less than 2.0t recorded the largest proportional growth, of 55.7%, although the market segment is subject to volatility arising from low volumes. The 4×4 market, subject to the same small volume variations, recorded a decline of -15.0%, while pick-ups grew by 4.1%. As ever, large vans weighing more than 2.5t up to 3.5t comprised the vast majority of the market (65.9%), with a slight decline of -0.8%.
Source: SMMT
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Tristan Young is an award winning journalist with more than 25 years’ experience reporting on the automotive industry focussing predominantly on fleet and retail. As a self-confessed petrol-head, Tristan has a weakness for car classifieds. When he’s not writing about the automotive industry, he can usually be found outdoors with a small pack of border collies.
