Van registrations fell by 3.8% in May 2013, compared to May 2012, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
However, despite May’s falls, the commercial vehicle market as a whole remains up by 8.3% on the year to date, thanks to a 13% increase in van registrations compared to the first five months of 2012:
UK van and truck registrations: 2013 and % change on 2012
| May | % change | Year-to-date | % change | Rolling year | % change | |
| Vans | 20,503 | -3.8% | 110,136 | 13.0% | 252,278 | 2.0% |
| Trucks | 3,646 | -9.4% | 17,325 | -14.3% | 42,808 | -9.7% |
| Total | 24,149 | -4.7% | 127,461 | 8.3% | 295,086 | 0.1% |
Data courtesy of SMMT
Truck registrations continued to trend lower last month, dropping by 9.4%, leaving them down by 14.3% for the year to date, compared to the first five months of 2012. One reason for this could be operators’ hesitation about switching from Euro 5 to Euro 6, as Nigel Base, SMMT’s Commercial Vehicle Manager, explains:
“The overall CV market has performed well so far in 2013, but May saw volumes fall 3.8% as van model cycles combined with Euro 6 uncertainty for trucks.
For trucks, history tells us that purchases of Euro 5 will mix with new Euro 6 trucks as the year progresses, which could boost the market in the second half of 2013. For vans, the picture was positive up to May, so we anticipate this blip to be overcome as the year pans out.”
Despite this year’s modest improvement, new van registrations remain substantially lower than the 2003-2008 average, as the graph below shows:
Van registrations May 2009-13 (courtesy of SMMT)
Pick-ups and sub-2.5t vans gain ground
Last month’s fall wasn’t spread evenly across the sub-3.5t LCV market. Pick-ups continued to make gains, with new registrations rising 22.8% last month compared to May 2012. On a year-to-date basis, pick-up registrations are now 37.4% higher than last year, making them the top-performing vehicle in the sub-3.5t LCV category.
Coming a close second, and with slightly higher volumes, registrations of vans between 2.0t and 2.5t are up by 22% on the year-to-date, and rose by 15% last month compared to May 2012.
However, the biggest volume sector of the van market remains the 2.5t-3.5t segment, which includes large van models such as the Ford Transit, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Iveco Daily. Registrations in this category dipped by 6.7% last month but remain 8.9% higher on the year-to-date, with 60,395 registered so far this year, up from 55,460 for the same period last year.
A sign of things to come?
The overall picture is one of cautious optimism for the van market, and it may be that operators are being forced to update their fleets after deferring planned renewals as long as possible.
Newer models offer increasingly powerful incentives in terms of lower emissions and improved fuel consumption, but I don’t expect total registrations in 2013 to run that far ahead of last year’s total.