The new van market bounced back in June following four months of decline with 37,349 LCVs registered during the month, the latest Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders figures have revealed.
According to the SMMT, that represents growth of 1.8% compared with figures from June 2016. However, the half-year results show the market is still down by 3.7% compared with the first six months of 2016.
An increase in the number of vans weighing between 2.0-2.5t drove the most growth last month, with an increase of 29.9% to 6,188 units, while the pick-up sector continued to surge in popularity, up 14.2% to 4,820 units.
Vans weighing less than 2.0t also saw a slight increase, with the market share increasing by 2.3% during the month, while the niche 4×4 sector saw a drop of 75.8% to just 46 units.
However, the biggest sector in terms of volume – vans weighing between 2.5-3.5t – saw a 5.4% drop, down to 22,843 units from 24,154 vehicles in June 2016.
The Ford Transit Custom was the most registered van of the month, with 5,062 examples finding new homes, followed by the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter on 2,777 registrations and the Ford Transit in third (2,647).
“After two years of record growth in the new van market, it’s natural to see demand ease as the sector reaches a sustainable running rate. However, as these figures show, the market remains at a high level and we expect similar patterns of demand to continue throughout the year,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive.
