The UK new LCV market grew by 5.4% year-on-year in April, with 23,889 registrations.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said this represented the 16th consecutive month of growth, as well as the strongest April for three years.
Registrations of 2.5-3.5t vans grew by 3.3%, with 15,714 registered, while 2.0-2.5t vans were up by 6.8% to 4,611, and vans weighing less than 2.0t were up by 41.1% to 604.
Pick-up truck registrations were up by 16.2%, to 2,487, while 4×4 registrations fell by 17.6%, to 473.
There was worse news for the electric LCV market, with EV registrations down by 42.4%, taking a market share of just 3.6%, down from 6.6% in April last year.
The SMMT has revised its full-year market share prediction for electric LCVs to 8.3%, down from the 9.4% it was expecting in January.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “Britain’s new van market continues to grow with the very latest, more fuel efficient models driving down CO2 – a core mission for the sector.
“Manufacturers are investing billions to bring electric vehicles to market, however, uptake is slowing and urgent action is needed.
“If government is serious about delivery of its ambitious targets, it must deploy an equally bold strategy for delivering van-suitable public chargepoints across the UK, now the single most important step to get a greener Britain moving.”
The Ford Transit returned to the top of the LCV sales chart in April, with 2,148 registrations, ahead of the Ford Transit Custom with 1,920, and the Vauxhall Vivaro with 1,661.
Completing the top ten were the Ford Ranger (1,416 registrations), Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (1,411), Volkswagen Transporter (1,218), Ford Transit Connect (1,003), Vauxhall Combo (951), Renault Trafic (852), and Peugeot Partner (829).
