Ford once again dominated LCV registrations in the UK during 2021, with the Transit Custom responsible for more than 53,000 registrations, making it the best-selling van model.
It was rather distantly followed in second place by the larger Ford Transit with just over 34,000 registrations. Ford sold more Transit Customs than every other single LCV brand sold vans altogether. In total more than 355,000 new vans were registered in 2021, 21% more than in 2020, when registrations were badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) attributes the increase in part to, “Strong underlying demand from key sectors – notably construction and home deliveries”, noting that there were significant investments from fleet operators during the year.
Contributing to the increase was a sharp rise in registrations of electric models, which accounted for almost 13,000 registrations, an increase of 142%.
Following the usual pattern, it was the heaviest vans with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) between 2,501kg and 3,500kg that took the largest slice of the market with just under 244,000 registrations, an increase of 28% on 2020. With growth of 19%, pickup truck registrations were the second largest growth area with registrations of more than 42,000.
Even though medium weight van (2,001kg to 2,500kg GVW) registrations declined slightly by 1%, they still accounted for the second biggest segment of the market with 47,000 registrations.
UK Top 10 Van Brands in 2021
| Manufacturer | 2021 registrations | Change (from 2020 to 2021) |
| Ford | 121,465 | +28.1% |
| Vauxhall | 34,344 | +10.5% |
| Volkswagen | 34,182 | +5.7% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 29,824 | -2.0% |
| Peugeot | 28,511 | +11.2% |
| Citroën | 25,153 | +10.9% |
| Renault | 18,128 | +61.7% |
| Nissan | 13,639 | +47.6% |
| Toyota | 13,282 | +65.9% |
| Fiat | 9,964 | +27.8% |
Ford’s domination of the market was further consolidated as the Ranger pickup held on to its place as the best-selling pickup truck in the UK during the year with almost 18,000 registrations.
The Citroën Berlingo was the best-selling compact van with registrations reaching 12,000 during the year. Add in registrations of the Peugeot Partner and Vauxhall Combo, and the Stellantis Group dominated the compact van sector.
Staying with the Stellantis Group, Vauxhall claimed the top spot for electric LCV registrations in 2021, with just under 3,000 of almost 13,00 electric LCVs registered wearing Vauxhall badges. Individually, the Vivaro-e was the overall best-selling electric LCV in 2021.
Falling just outside the top 10 best sellers for the year, registrations of the new Isuzu D-Max rose by 17% to more than 3,000. The best-selling version of Isuzu’s pickup provide to be the range-topping V-Cross automatic variant. Registrations of D-Max double-cab automatic variants rose by 48% compared with 2020.
| Model | Registrations |
| Ford Transit Custom | 53,394 |
| Ford Transit | 34,293 |
| Mercedes-Benz Sprinter | 21,915 |
| VW Transporter | 21,190 |
| Vauxhall Vivaro | 17,957 |
| Ford Ranger | 17,830 |
| Citroën Berlingo | 12,030 |
| Ford Transit Connect | 11,498 |
| Peugeot Partner | 11,290 |
| Vauxhall Combo | 10,569 |
Fleet software and management specialist FleetCheck believes that concerns over future residual values of models supplied with petrol or diesel engines is contributing to the rise in registrations of new electric models.
According to FleetCheck’s customer success director Andy Kirby, worries were being expressed by customers who purchase vehicles outright that demand for used petrol and diesel models could start to fall substantially in the second half of the 2020s as we head towards the 2030 end of internal combustion engine vehicle sales in the UK.
“The situation is even more marked when it comes to van operation”, says Kirby, “We have some fleets who operate LCVs on a six-year cycle. That means if you place an order now, you’ll be potentially looking to sell that van in 2028, when it is likely that electric will be the fleet norm.”
Looking ahead to this year’s registrations, the SMMT is predicting further growth. The organisation expects that LCVs will account for just short of 364,000 registrations in 2022.
