2023 continues to be a buoyant year for the UK new light commercial vehicle market, which has now enjoyed 10 consecutive months of growth – with October seeing 26,342 of the very latest vans joining the UK’s roads. That’s 3.7% above pre-pandemic 2019 levels, reflecting a clear appetite for fleets to fit out with the latest vans – putting more of the latest, fuel efficient models on UK roads.
After a bumper September for new battery electric vans (BEV) uptake, demand was slower in October, falling by a fifth (-20.2%). While this suggests long-term growth is precarious, and ought to be a concern for long-term policy planners with the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate less than nine weeks away, the figure is exacerbated in comparison with last year, when the month saw a particularly large zero emission fleet order.
Positively, outlook for light commercial vehicles (LCVs) for 2023 has been revised upwards to 332,000 units, a 1.2% rise on July’s outlook, and 2024 is expected to see 334,000 new van registrations – including 34,000 BEVs, exceeding 10% of the overall market.
That’s in large part due to significant investments by van manufacturers in the UK and abroad to deliver more than 25 zero emission van models to market. This commitment must be matched with a constructive, ambitious Autumn Statement later this month. Government has a key opportunity to send a message that now is a good time to for van buyers to switch to electric, with the latest models capable of suiting a broad range of needs.
In particular, committing to retain existing incentives and beneficial tax frameworks for BEV buyers will send out a positive signal. Looking further ahead to mass adoption, however, it is essential to address the paucity of public chargepoints, with more needed in all regions of the UK to meet the specific needs of vans of all types and sizes.
Another barrier is the number of drivers that are qualified to drive electric vans, and last week SMMT hosted an online meeting for with the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles to hear about the forthcoming derogations for LCVs weighing more than 4.25 tonnes. The changes will provide an opportunity to unblock the market for these vehicles and make it easier for fleets to invest in the largest BEV vans, accelerating decarbonisation and improving air quality in every region of the UK. With a busy parliamentary schedule potentially on the horizon next year, it is essential the legislation is on government’s priority list for the sector, gaining Royal Assent sooner rather then later.
