Members of the BVRLA now operate 100,000 more vans than they did before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The rental and leasing industry body said the share of its members’ overall fleets taken by vans had therefore increased from 23% in the first quarter of 2020 to 27% in Q1 of 2023.
The data has been published in the BVRLA’s latest Leasing Outlook Report, which also reveals that the number of vans on-fleet had grown by 3% year-on-year to stand at 510,582 – greatly outpacing the 0.1% growth seen in car fleet numbers during the same period.
Other findings from the report include that new LCV contracts are for shorter periods and lower mileages than the van fleet as a whole, at 69,000 miles and 43 months versus 75,500 miles and 47 months, which the BVRLA said perhaps indicating an intention to transition to electric LCVs as soon as practically possible.
However, the report warns: “Range, payload, and especially charging issues are delaying e-LCV adoption, even among fleets with ambitious sustainability targets. Leasing companies are finding that they need to advise clients on a case-by-case basis through their decarbonisation plans, with significant new resource ploughed into consultancy services.
“As a rule of thumb, use profiles that combine consistent daily mileages with return-to-depot schedules are proving much easier to electrify (albeit with costly charging infrastructure investment) than home-based vans with unpredictable routes.”
