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LCV Registrations Fall in June but Market Remains Strong

New registrations of light commercial vehicles are down 4.5% from the previous June, recording a deficit for the first time in 17 months. Registrations of all vans up to 3.5t totalled 33,066 units for June 2024, compared to 34,630 for June 2023.

Overall, however, the first half of the year was stronger than 2023, with 177,620 registrations compared to 169,926 in the first half of 2023. Year-to-date, 2024 is the best performing year since 2021.

It must be kept in mind with these numbers, that June 2023 was an inflated month due to supply finally catching up with the post-covid demand.

When we break down the different vehicle types, we can see that the 2.5t – 3.5t category fell by 8.3% from 24,640 to 21,677 year-on-year.  The smaller vehicle types increased in registrations, with vans smaller than 2.0t  increasing from 508 units to 806 (58.7%) and vans between 2.0t and 2.5t increasing from 6,291 to 7,168 units (14.0%).

Battery electric van (BEV) registrations fell for a third month, with only 1,476 units registered in June 2024 compared to 1,775 in June 2023. This is a reduction of 16.8%, and has reduced the year-to-date market share from 5.2% to 4.7%.

With the current Zero Emissions Mandate requiring 10% of all new van registrations be BEVs, it is looking like this target may not be met. And as this target is set to increase over the next few years, this is a cause for concern among industry professionals.

While manufacturers are working hard to produce zero emissions vehicles to meet the mandate, buyers remain unconvinced due to issues with charging infrastructure and cost.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “The best first half of a year since 2021 is great news for a market so intrinsic to economic growth, but this optimism will only continue if action is taken to re-energise zero emission van demand. A new government provides an opportunity to bolster the market with a strategy to grow the UK’s van-specific charging network at pace and maintain essential fiscal incentives to keep this vital market on track, without which our net zero ambitions will be at risk.”