Ford down 7,000 registrations
Managed drop includes rental reverse
Kia making an impact with PV5
Increase in hybrid drivetrains helping OEMs with ZEV mandate
FORD’S falling commercial vehicle sales are part of a deliberate plan to balance its EV and ICE registrations to help it achieve the ZEV Mandate, according to new LCV boss Alex Gallagher.
The latest registration figures show that over the first four months of 2026, Ford Pro is down nearly 7,000 LCVs compared with the same period last year.
While Ford was far more exposed to the drop in demand for pick-ups caused by changes to BIK tax classification for double-cabs, Gallagher said this was not the only reason sales were down.
Gallagher told Broker News at the CV Show last month that the manufacturer was restricting ICE sales in some sectors of the market, most notably fast-turn areas such as daily rental. He said this was about “really conscious choices” about where it sells vans.
“We have also made some really conscious choices to limit some of our business in some of those sectors of the market that aren’t electrifying maybe as quickly,” he added.
“The rental segment is a good example of that. So we’re not doing as much of that business, which obviously has other benefits like supporting our residual values.”
While Ford is by far the biggest faller in terms of units sold over the year-to-date, its April registrations had levelled out with a drop of just 97 LCVs.
Toyota continues to be hit, but Kia on the rise
Like Ford, Toyota was also exposed to the drop in pick-up demand and has so far this year seen a fall of more than 2,000 units. However, unlike Ford, its decrease has continued into April with 748 fewer LCVs registered against the same month last year.
While the overall market is still running down 1.6% year-to-date, April saw a 6.8% rise with brokers and retailers reporting a strong month, even if their outlook is uncertain due to broader rising costs for businesses.
Volkswagen continues to top the chart for LCV volume increase but could be overtaken by Kia with its all-electric PV5 Cargo (pictured above at the CV Show). The PV5 Cargo significantly undercuts its main rival the Volkswagen ID Buzz by several thousand pounds and Kia has already increased its forecast for the year from around 3,000 units to more than 4,500 following the success of its first quarter selling LCVs.
Source: SMMT
Top 5 fastest growing brands by volume YTD
Bottom 5 fastest falling brands by volume YTD
1 Volkswagen 2,032
2 Kia 1,821
3 Renault 1,774
4 Mercedes 1,187
5 Land Rover 1,109
5 Maxus -641
4 Citroen -925
3 Isuzu -982
2 Toyota -2,043
1 Ford -6,848
What’s the news on van electrification?
Electric van sales are still running significantly behind where they need to be to hit the Government’s ZEV Mandate of a 24% mix this year.
Electric LCV registrations are currently sitting at 9.4% of the market, up from 8.3% this time last year. However, what the SMMT classes as ‘others’ under LCV fuel type are starting to increase. These ‘others’ are mostly hybrids and plug-in hybrids and now account for 7.3% of the market. These vans will help OEMs close in on their mandated targets reducing the need to hit the 24% EVs this year.
Main image created by Gemini AI.
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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.
