Happy New Year to you all.
After 2020 proved the most challenging of years, 2021 has seen the van sector complete a real turnaround, as total registrations for the year rose 21.4%. 355,235 new vans joined the market last year – almost as many as we saw in pre-pandemic 2019.
The sector has resumed its ride on the wave of the long-term structural shift in the economy, and of course, the inexorable rise in home deliveries – although there are signs this may have plateaued. It’s not all plain sailing of course, as this and other sectors continue to struggle with supply chain issues.
What the data does tell us, is that electric vehicles are beginning to have an impact. Although numbers are still low compared to the ICE market, the rate of change is enormous, with sales rising 142.3% during the year. However, that still means just one in 28 new vans last year ran fully on a battery. For cars, it was nearer one in nine. There’s a long way to go yet before vans replicate the shift seen in the car sector – which itself needs to accelerate ahead of our shared 2030 end of sale date.
