New van registrations fell by 5.9% in July to 23,309 units, according to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The fall — in comparison to July 2017 — continues a trend that’s seen the number of new vans hitting the road drop by 2.7% to 204,005 so far in 2018.

This news isn’t completely unexpected, as I’ve commented before. New registrations still remain at fairly high levels, historically.

UK van registrations July 2012-18 (image courtesy of SMMT)

Ford is still on top

Ford retained its stranglehold on the new van market in July. Of the 23,309 vehicles registered, 5,707 were either Transit Custom or Transit models. In addition to this, the top 10 best seller list included 1,048 Ranger pickups and 1,031 Transit Connect vans.

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter failed to make it into the top 10, as did several other popular models, including the Renault Trafic.

Why van hire demand could be slowing

The van hire sector remains a major buyer of new vans, helping to underpin production plans for popular models. But at least one big hire company, Northgate, has announced plans to keep vans on its hire fleet for longer than it used to before selling them.

With more than 40,000 vans on hire in the UK, any changes to Northgate’s purchasing patterns could affect overall demand, especially if its changes are echoed by other big rental firms.

Although Northgate remains a major buyers of new vans each year, it could be that this is one factor contributing to a slight reduction in demand for new vans.

Disclosure: The author owns shares of Northgate plc.