Light commercial vehicle sales rise for third straight month
New light commercial vehicle sales rose 12.2% in June to 31,602 units, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The third consecutive month of growth took sales in the first half of the year to 158,648 units, which is 1.7% higher than the same period last year.
The June increase was driven primarily by demand for larger vans, with registrations of vans weighing between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes rising by 12.6% to 21,951 units in the month, while medium-sized vans rose 62.1% to 6,795 units, and 4×4 registrations grew by 20.8%.
However, sales of vans weighing less than 2.0 tonnes declined by 19.3%.
Meanwhile, electric vehicle registrations rose for a third month in a row, up 23.2% to take 11.5% of the market. Year-to-date, electric vans have increased their market share from 8.6% to 9.9%, which is still well below the 24% share mandated this year.
Return to growth
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “The market’s return to growth is encouraging, but it comes against a backdrop of lower volumes and significant market disruption over the past 18 months, not least the sharp fall in pickup demand after tax changes.
“While businesses continue to invest in new vans, zero emission uptake remains well below ambition, holding back the fleet renewal needed to deliver net zero.
“A successful transition requires regulation, infrastructure and incentives to work together, giving operators the confidence to invest. With the gap between targets and demand continuing to widen, urgent reform of the mandate is needed to keep the transition on track.”
