- Light commercial vehicle market declines marginally in March, falling -0.9% following record 2016.
- Demand for pick-ups continues upward trend, rising 23.0% in the month.
- 97,970 vans registered in Q1 – a slight decline of -0.9% over the same period last year.
SEE LCV REGISTRATIONS BY BRAND
Light commercial vehicle registrations dipped in March, as the market stabilised following a sustained period of strong growth and record demand, according to figures released by SMMT. 63,316 light commercial vehicles hit British roads last month, representing a small fall of -0.9%, and the first decline in March for five years.1
Pick-ups and heavier vans experienced an increase in demand in March, up 23.0% and 3.6% respectively. However, figures for smaller vans painted a different picture, with registrations of vehicles weighing less than 2.0 tonnes down by -31.6% and vans between 2.0-2.5 tonnes falling -4.0%.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said,
The new van market has experienced strong levels of demand in recent years and this dip in registrations represents a natural rebalancing of the market. Despite the decline, demand remains at an historically high level with year-to-date registrations matching 2015’s performance, which was only exceeded by demand in 2016. We expect demand to remain stable at this high level throughout the year.
Notes
1 March 2012, LCV registrations declined by -11.1%.
Download the March and Q1 2017 press release and data table.
