LCV market put into reverse in July

The light commercial vehicle (LCV) market declined for the first month since December 2020 in July.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, registrations fell 14.8%, with supply issues – most notably of semiconductors – meaning only 23,606 vans were registered during the month.

Despite this, the month’s performance was only a moderate four per cent decline compared to the pre-pandemic five-year average.

However, year-to-date registrations remain up 57.5% on last year – some 78,542 more units – with the market also increasing by 1.1% on the pre-pandemic 2015-2019 five-year average.

In total 215,119 new vans have exchanged hands so far in 2021, with the SMMT now expecting the LCV market to increase by 24.3% to 363,880 units in 2021.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “While July’s decline in the new van market is disappointing, it must be viewed in context against the semiconductor shortages currently challenging the global industry. Given the shift to home-deliveries, strength of construction sector and as the economy opens up further, we expect the market to end the year almost back to 2019 levels. Fleet renewal is critical, not only to ensure the newest, cleanest and greenest vans enter UK roads, but to enable the UK to meet its ambitious green targets.