Not surprisingly, there has been a very large reduction in the number of new vans sold here in the UK in May according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Of course, the main reason for the drop can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Motor sales showrooms have been closed for many weeks until the beginning of this month due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now that they are starting to re-open, hopefully, the sale of new vans will increase especially as more businesses return to work that may require changing their existing vans for new vehicles. It will be interesting to see if dealers have offers available to entice customers.

The number of new vans registered in the UK in the up to 3.5 tonnes category in May 2020 amounted to 7,541 whereas in May 2019 the figure was 29,142. That is a significant fall of 74.1%.

The sale of new pickups fell from 3,759 in May 2019 to 741 in May 2020 – a drop of 80.3%. The sale of new 4 x 4s in May 2019 totalled 160 but in May this year the figure was 26 – a fall of 83.8%. The sale of new vans in the up to 2 tonnes category in May last year amounted to 2,254 whereas in the same month this year the figure was only 360 – a reduction of 84.0%. The sale of new vans in the 2.0 to 2.5 tonnes category in May 2019 was 4,706 whereas in May 2020 the figure was 1,002 – a drop of 78.7%. The sale of new vans in the 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes category in May last year came to 18,263 but in May this year the figure was 5,412 – a drop of 70.4%.

When you look at the figures on a year to date basis to May 2020 the figures do not make for good reading as the number of new vans sold in the up to 3.5 tonnes category amounted to 78,835 whereas for the same period to May 2019 the figure was 156,489. This equates to a drop of 49.6%.

We will continue to keep our readers up to date with regard to the number of new vans registered here in the UK in the coming months.