- UK new van registration volumes rise 8.4% to 23,962 units in best January for three years
- Market grows for 13th consecutive month.
- Electric van uptake jumps 19.4% to 1,186 registrations, with more than 60,000 joining UK roads since 2018.
- Green uptake needs to grow faster as Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate requires BEVs to represent 10% of sales in 2024.
COMMERCIAL vehicle manufacturers will need to more than double their electric vehicle mix by the end of the year if they are to avoid huge fines.
New LCV registrations for January show electric vans only account for 4.9% of the market. By the end of the year, manufacturers must hit a target of 10% under the government’s ZEV Mandate.
Overall, new LCV registrations were up 8.4% in January to hit a total of 23,962 units.
Diesels accounted for 92.7% of van registrations last month and petrol and plug-in hybrids took the remaining 2.3%.
If the market is going to meet the ZEV targets, demand from van buyers must be stimulated, according to Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive. He added:
“Industry is ready to deliver a mass market transition but buyer demand must increase massively, requiring everyone to play their part. Ramping up dedicated public van charging infrastructure in particular is essential for all UK businesses to be confident of making the switch, sooner rather than later.”
The SMMT’s own forecast for electric van registrations shows the year will end on a 9.4% mix, up from 5.9% at the end of 2023.
Ford continues to top the charts as both the best-selling brand, with 30% of the market, and with the best-selling model; the Transit Custom. However, Ford was up less than the overall market with a 3.4% rise.
Volkswagen was second taking 12.2% of the market and Vauxhall third with a 10.0% share. However both these brands saw significant growth on last year with VW up 12.4% and Vauxhall up 21.4%.
“It’s been an exciting start to 2024 with the growth in LCV registrations and increased customer demand which has been evident in our order levels. We continue to support businesses with the transition to electric, with a particular focus on payload demands, range, charging solutions and fleet management.”
January 2024 van registrations by model
January 2024 van best sellers by brand
Source: SMMT
Read our analysis of January 2024 car registration figures
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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.
