The UK new light commercial vehicle (LCV) market recorded a fourth consecutive month of growth in July, with registrations rising 22% year-on-year, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
While the LCV market’s start to 2026 was rather concerning with three months of year-on-year sales declines, registration numbers have picked up since, the SMMT reporting that sales totals for the year are now up 4% when compared the first seven months of 2025.
While overall demand remains positive, market growth continues to be reliant on rising large van registrations, while pickup sales fall once again year-on-year in July. Meanwhile, battery electric van uptake surged 74% last month, but demand still isn’t strong enough to meet the annual government-mandated target.
Large van and 4×4 models increasingly popular
Growth in July was largely fueled by demand for large vans (2.5 to 3.5 tonnes), which increased 30% to nearly 21,000 registrations. Keep in mind that large van category is already by far the largest in the LCV market, dwarfing demand for small and medium vans and accounting for almost three-quarters (72%) of all new LCV registrations so far in 2026, up from 63% at this point in 2025.
The most dramatic percentage growth per category in July belongs to the 4×4 class, which grew by 66% year-on-year to around 1,000 new registrations, while interest in new pickups fell 53% to around 900 registrations. Pickups now account for just 6% of the LCV market, compared with 13% a year ago.
The ongoing weakness follows changes introduced in April 2025 that reclassified double-cab pickups as company cars for Benefit-in-Kind taxation purposes, significantly increasing costs for many business users.
The small van sector (under 2 tonnes) is down by over a quarter when you look at the year at large, but finally exited its sales slump last month, with registrations climbing 12% year-on-year in July. The medium van category (between 2 to 2.5 tonnes) saw similar growth, up 21%.
Electric sales surge sees BEVs take up bigger market share
Battery electric van (BEV) registrations increased by a significant 74% in July to 4,250 units, giving electric vans a monthly market share of 15%, up from 10% in July last year.
While this represents healthy growth in volume terms, BEV registrations still only account for 11% of the total LCV registrations in 2026, which is still significantly below the government’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate target of 24% market share for 2026. It is worth noting that 10% of all LCV sales being electric was the government target in 2024.
Diesel remains dominant, representing 79% of June registrations and 83% of the market January-to-July.
Good month, bad month
While the overall market grew by 22% in July, not everyone benefitted from increasing demand. Some brands will be celebrating a stronger performance than others.
Those brands of note are Peugeot, Land Rover and Fiat – which all managed to improve on their July 2025 registration totals with over 60% sales increases. Other above-average performers include Volkswagen, Iveco, KGM, Farizon, MAN, Dacia, Renault Trucks and Fuso. These brands outperformed the overall LCV market by at least 10%.
Meanwhile, things were not as positive for Citroen, Isuzu, Nissan and Renault. All of these brands underachieved against the overall market by at least 10%. It was also a particularly bad month for big names Vauxhall and Toyota, with registrations down 40% and 37% respectively.
The following brands were about where you’d expect them to be: Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Maxus and Ineos. All of these brands had results that were within +/- 10% of the overall market.
Ford Transit Custom stays on top
The Ford Transit Custom maintained its position as Britain’s best-selling van in July with over 5,700 registrations. Moreover, the Transit custom has now extended its sales lead at the top with nearly 29,000 registrations January-to-June.
Similarly sized rivals like the Renault Trafic and Vauxhall Vivaro don’t come close to challenging the Ford at this point, with around 9,000 and 8,400 registrations respectively.
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