Fiat Doblo Cargo Tecnico

Van sales finally begun to rebound last year, but some manufacturers fared better than others in terms of sales growth — and near the top of the pile was Fiat Professional, the firm’s van division, which recorded 70% increase in UK sales, which rose to 13,500 in 2013.

The rise took Fiat’s share of the UK light commercial vehicle (LCV) market to 4.4%, a new UK record for Fiat, which has traditionally been stronger in continental Europe. Fiat claims that its 70% growth rate was ‘twice the rate of growth of its nearest rival’  and that when passenger variants and 4t Ducato vans are taken into account, its total share of the UK LCV market rose to 5.1%.

The growth leapfrogged Fiat to 8th place in the UK LCV market, but its vans have always been more popular in continental Europe, where it is the third largest LCV manufacturer in terms of market share and the leading supplier of motorhome base vehicles, underpinning approximately two-thirds of motorhomes built in 2013.

The sales results come on top of a critically successful year for FIAT Professional in the UK. In 2013 the brand and its products scooped a host of major awards from numerous influential UK publications including (in chronological order) VansA2Z, Trade Van Driver, Fleet Van World, GreenFleet, Fleet Van and What Van?