Strong sales of large vans overcame falls of medium and small vans to help the overall new LCV market post growth of 14% in October, compared to the same month last year.
Large vans (2.5 – 3.5 tonnes) grew by nearly 28% in October, with nearly 20,000 new vehicles being registered. This strong performance was more than enough to compensate for falls in the numbers of medium (2.0 – 2.5 tonnes) and small (under 2.0 tonnes) vans.
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Pick-up trucks saw growth of 3%, which further solidifies the category as the second-largest category in the LCV market ahead of medium vans.
The largest van segment, rigids under six tonnes, also enjoyed a stellar month with registrations up 63% from a year ago – but these numbers are not included in the overall LCV figures.
Year-to-date, the market is down less than 2% with stability in the two largest categories of large vans and pick-ups. Medium vans are down just under 7% and small vans are down by 16%. Commercial 4x4s have had a big year, but they only make up 0.5% of the total market. Large rigid vans up to six tonnes have also been on a roll, up more than 30% compared to the first ten months of 2017.
Stellar Sprinter splits Transit twosome
The new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter had a good month in October, jumping to second place behind perennial leader the Ford Transit Custom and ahead of the big-brother Transit.
Ford is unlikely to be too disappointed, with four vehicles in the top ten best seller list as usual. The Transit Custom finished the month as the second-most popular vehicle in the UK, only outsold by the Ford Fiesta, and has now moved into third place in year-to-date results behind the Fiesta and the Volkswagen Golf.
Ford continued to comfortably lead the small van and pick-up segments as well, with the Transit Connect and Ranger pick-up finishing fifth and sixth respectively.
The French propped up the bottom of the top ten at the expense of Japan this month, as the Citroën Berlingo and Renault Trafic vans appeared in place of the Mitsubishi L200 and Nissan Navara pick-ups from last month’s list.
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