My month in vans – February 2026

Liam Nicholas, the Business Development Director at leading van leasing specialist Vanaways, reflects on the drivers in the UK van market during February 2026.

THERE’s an impressive stat in the latest van sales figures from the SMMT: just under 4% of the market has been supplied by Vanaways year to date.

Vanaways’ ambition is to deliver 4,000 fleet sales in 2026 and continue building a goal of 10,000 retail and fleet vans sold within 2027.

Liam says that ‘the latest February 2026 Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) registration data provides a clear snapshot of the UK light commercial vehicle market so far this year.’

Ford Motor Company remains the largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, with more than 5,000 vans registered in February alone, while a competitive group sits behind Ford, including Volkswagen, Renault and Vauxhall.

Van Registrations • February & YTD 2026

🥇 Ford UK
5,390 & 10,277 registrations

🥈 Volkswagen
1,403 & 3,510 registrations

🥉 Renault
1,374 & 2,863 registrations

4️⃣ Vauxhall Motors Ltd
1,241 & 3,444 registrations

5️⃣ Peugeot
919 & 1,977 registrations

6️⃣ Mercedes-Benz Vans UK
916 & 1,569 registrations

7️⃣ Toyota Motor Corporation
824 & 1,570 registrations

8️⃣ Citroën UK
740 & 1,798 registrations

9️⃣ Nissan Motor Corporation
344 & 1,412 registrations

🔟 Kia UK Limited
293 & 509 registrations

1️⃣1️⃣ JLR
240 & 885 registrations

1️⃣2️⃣ Harris Maxus UK
203 & 387 registrations

1️⃣3️⃣ Renault Trucks
164 & 473 registrations

1️⃣4️⃣ MAN Truck & Bus UK
162 & 395 registrations

1️⃣5️⃣ Iveco Group
139 & 267 registrations

1️⃣6️⃣ Fiat
133 & 378 registrations

1️⃣7️⃣ Isuzu UK
44 & 145 registrations

1️⃣8️⃣ Isuzu Truck UK
42 & 91 registrations

1️⃣9️⃣ INEOS
19 & 58 registrations

2️⃣0️⃣ KGM
15 & 111 registrations

2️⃣1️⃣ Farizon Auto UK
13 & 39 registrations

2️⃣2️⃣ Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd.
13 & 19 registrations

2️⃣3️⃣ Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation
10 & 24 registrations

Several manufacturers operate in much smaller niche volumes below the top 10 and the market remains broadly diversified, with over 20 manufacturers registering vehicles in the UK.

Overall market in February 2026

• 14,641 vans registered in February
• 1.1% year on year growth
• 32,203 registrations year to date
• YTD market down 3.9% vs 2025
• Diesel dominates 78.7% market share
• Electric 13.5% share 42.2% YoY growth
• Other fuels 7.8%
• Large vans (2.5–3.5t) up 8.9% YTD
• Overall van registrations down 3.9% YTD
• Pickup registrations are down 56.2% YTD

In other news, this month Vanaways welcomed Andrew Winstanley as Head of Fleet Sales as it doubles its Fleet team from six to 12 by the end of the year.

With increasing tender activity and growing demand for EV adoption across local authorities and major fleet operators, the fleet division is positioned as a major growth driver for the business.