2022 has been a poor year so far for van registrations, with the first eight months of the year reporting lower numbers than the previous year. Much of this, of course, is due to the ongoing supply issues and the backlog created by a collection of disruptions since 2019.
September 2022, however, has broken that trend. LCV registrations for September 2022 have increased 10.8% year-on-year to a total of 34,950.
It must be noted, however, that September 2021 was a poor month for LCV registrations, so it might not be as good a result as it appears. Despite that, it can still be viewed as a sign that the market is recovering, albeit slowly.
The increase was driven by delivery of medium and large vans, between 2.5t and 3.5t, totalling 25,787 vans in this category.
BEV numbers are showing a strong change year-on-year, up 70% from 912 to 1550. This makes the year-on-year improvement an impressive 52.9% (7,427 to 11,359). This is a growth in market share from 2.8% last year to 5.3% today. While these are still small numbers, they continue to grow as more manufacturers and customers push for net zero targets.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said,
“While the full recovery of Britain’s new van market remains some way off, September growth reflects van makers’ efforts to fulfil strong order books despite a paucity of supply. High energy costs and wider economic uncertainty, however, will undermine operator confidence, meaning that long-term measures to provide stability and growth are needed if the sector – so often a bellwether for business activity – is to return to its past success.”
With regards to manufacturers and models, the Ford Transit Custom continues to top the leaderboard for best selling vans. Interestingly, the Ford Ranger is the third best-selling LCV of September, which might speak more to Ford’s supply lines than demand.
Van Ninja is seeing an improvement in supply, and stock levels are growing, though they are not yet in the numbers we would like. Some manufacturers continue to lag behind as they strive to clear their backlog, and as such it means vehicle choice is still limited.
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