Light commercial vehicle registrations are continuing their downward trend in 2025, according to numbers published this morning by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Overall numbers were down by 15% compared to the same month last year, with large vans particularly suffering.
It was the fifth month in a row that registrations have declined year-on-year, with no respite in sight for the industry. Pick-ups and 4×4 vehicles did show improvement compared to last April, but their gains were swallowed up by much larger falls in van registrations.
There continues to be growth in smaller electric vans (under 3.5 tonnes), but larger electric vans (3.5 to 4.25 tonnes) followed the downward trend across the rest of the sector. Overall, the industry is well behind its 2025 EV mandate as set by the government, with an 8% market share well below the target of 16%.
The biggest decline in April was in the large diesel LCV segment (2.5 to 3.5 tonnes), which was down 23% on the same month last year. Small (under 2.0 tonnes) and mid-size (2.0 to 2.5 tonnes) vans were both down about 6%. On the other hand, pick-up registrations grew by 10% and 4x4s by 19%.
In year-to-date terms, the overall market is down by about 12%, thanks to sluggish sales for mid-size and large vans. While the SMMT and other industry lobbyists continue to bang the table for more EV subsidies from the government, this overlooks the fact that diesel van sales are falling (down 18,500 units year-to-date) much faster than electric van sales are growing (up 2,300 units year-to-date).
Good month, bad month
Despite an overall market slump of 15% compared to last April, it wasn’t the same for everyone.
In terms of sales up to 3.5 tonnes, it was a good month for Fuso, Isuzu, Land Rover, MAN, Renault Trucks and Toyota. All of these brands outperformed the overall LCV market by at least 10%.
Meanwhile, things were not as happy for Dacia, Fiat, Ineos, Iveco, KGM, Maxus, Mercedes-Benz, Renault and Vauxhall. All of these brands underachieved against the overall market by at least 10% (in other words, their registrations were down by at least 25%)
That means that the following brands were about where you’d expect them to be: Citroën, Ford, Isuzu Trucks, Nissan, Peugeot and Volkswagen. All of these brands had results that were within +/- 10% of the overall market.
As usual, Ford was dominant, but with almost 700 fewer units shifted than last April. Toyota was the star brand of the month in this segment, with more than 300 additional registrations over the same month last year. Going the other way was Vauxhall, which registered almost 1,000 fewer vans than last April.
In the much smaller heavy CV market (3.5 to 6.0 tonnes), the overall market was up by 34%. Ford led the market and enjoyed the largest growth over Mercedes-Benz, while a few manufacturers saw small decreases compared to the same month last year.
Ford fills out the podium places – again
To pretty much no-one’s surprise, Ford swept the top three places in the best-sellers’ list – as it has for three of the four months of the year to date. The Transit Custom headed the Transit and the Ranger, with the Citroën Berlingo winning this month’s race for best-selling vehicle that’s not a Ford.
Stellantis had three flavours of its small van in the top ten, with the Berlingo (4th), Peugeot Partner (7th) and Vauxhall Combo (9th) all featuring.
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