It is pleasing to hear that the number of new vans registered here in the UK rose quite considerably in February 2021. It is rare that there is much good news for the motor trade industry these days so let’s look at the figures in a little more detail.

According to figures recently published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the number of new vans registered in February 2021 amounted to 17,205 whereas in February 2021 the figure was 14,103. That is an increase of 3,102 that equates to a rise of 22.0%.

The number of new pickups sold in February 2021 was 1,716 whereas in February 2020 the figure was 1,353. That is a rise of 26.8%. The number of 4x4s sold in February 2021 amounted to 51 whereas in February last year the figure was 48 – a rise of 6.3%. The number of new vans sold in the up to 2 tonnes category in February this year amounted to 689 whereas in February last year the figure was 922. This equates to a drop of 25.3%. The number of new vans sold in the 2 to 2.5 tonnes category amounted to 2,940 in February 2021 compared to 2,698 in February 2020- a rise of 9.0%. The number of new vans sold in the 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes category in February 2021 amounted to 11,809 compared to 9,082 in February 2020 – a rise of 30.0%.

On a year to date basis to February 2021, the number of new LCVs sold in the UK in February 2021 amounted to 41,234 whereas for the same period to February last year the figure was 37,660. That is an increase of 3,574 with this equating to a rise of 9.5%. It was only in the 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes category that the number of new van sales increased when comparing the year to date figures for February with sales this year amounting to 28,305 whereas last year the figure was 22,236 – a rise of 27.3%.

Presumably, the pandemic has had an impact on the sale of new vans here in the UK so let us hope that when the pandemic comes to an end there is greater interest in people wanting to replace their used vans with new ones. We will continue to keep our readers up to date with any interesting statistics relating to the LCV market.