After a year of persistent supply chain issues, the LCV market has shrunk by 21% in 2022, which concluded with a slow December in which 25% less light vans were sold in the UK compared the the same month last year.
According to the latest figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), close to 22,000 new LCVs were registered in the UK in December – 282,000 registrations for the year as a whole.
The SMMT explains that the LCV market has struggled to meet the prior year’s sales total of 355,000 as supply chain issues have restricted production globally, despite demand remaining high. As these supply issues begin to ease the SMMT predicts that LCV registrations will recover to around the 330,000 mark in 2023 – sales that will be worth £1.6 billion for the British economy.
The registrations of 4x4s actually increased by 190% respectively year-on-year in December, while registrations of light vans under two tonnes decreased by a huge 65% when compared to December 2021.
Looking at the whole of 2022, the LCV market is 21% smaller than it was last year, with decreasing sales numbers for every LCV market sector. Particularly impacted is the sales of light vans under two tonnes, which shrank by 56% when compared to 2021, which saw a surge in sales as the market recovered from the pandemic.
Electric vans growing in number, but “some way off” the electric car market
Things are looking considerably more promising for the battery electric vehicle (BEV) market, although the sale of electric vans still fell by 32% last month when compared to December 2021. Four in ten of all BEVs ever registered in the UK arrived on British roads in the last year, but electric vans still only make up 6% of the market as a whole. By comparison, diesel models still account for over 90% of all van registrations.
The SMMT says that this all-electric growth is not quite as fast as it was expecting, particularly as the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate is due to come into force in a year’s time.
To increase uptake, the SMMT is calling for more government action to increase BEV demand, including further financial incentives and a quicker roll out of van chargepoint stations across the UK. The trade association says that the charging point infrastructure for electric vehicles is already insufficient, and is geared towards cars rather than vans.
Good month, bad month
Just like the passenger car market, the LCV industry has been hindered by supply shortages for well over a year now, and each van manufacturer has been dealing with supply issues to varying degrees.
Isuzu, Land Rover, Toyota and Volkswagen recorded very healthy registration numbers in December, both considerably improving on their December 2021 registration figures. Renault also outperformed the overall market by 10% in October, as did Mercedes-Benz.
Conversely, it wasn’t a healthy month of sales for the likes of Vauxhall, Citroën, Fiat and Peugeot. All of these brands underachieved compared to the overall market by at least 10% (and in some cases, by a lot more than that).
Ford extends commanding LCV sales lead
Even with December to go, the LCV best-sellers race had already come to a close, as Ford has had an insurmountable lead at the top of the charts for several months. 2022’s best-selling van be a considerable margin was the Ford Transit Custom, followed by its larger Ford Transit sibling.
After several months of declining sales, the Vauxhall Vivaro slips to fourth, as the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is crowned as the ‘best-of-the-rest’ option.
The top ten also includes two other Ford models, the Ranger pick-up and Transit Connect light van, as well as two Volkswagens – the Transporter and the larger Crafter. Finally, two Peugeot models sit in eighth and ninth.
