Van registrations rose by 34.5% in July, compared to the same period last year, according to the latest figures from the SMMT.

July’s strong performance leaves new van registrations up by 18.9% so far this year, compared to the first eight months of 2013, although it’s worth noting that July’s total of 24,764 new registrations was considerably lower than the 30,712 logged in June.

Despite this, year-to-date sales are now broadly in-line with 2008  levels, possibly marking the end of the long-running depressed market for new vans.

Second-half sales may be helped by a raft of new van models arriving on the market this summer, including the new big Transit, new Vauxhall Vivaro and Renault Trafic, updated Renault Master and new Ford Transits Connect and Courier, as well as the ongoing strong performance from the Ford Transit Custom, which was the UK’s best-selling commercial vehicle in July.

Commenting on the figures, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said:

“The commercial vehicle market has delivered another strong month overall, driven by an impressive number of van registrations. This reflects growing business confidence in the economy and the variety of highly capable and efficient vans on the market.”

The graph below shows how van registrations have recovered (the dark blue line) over the last year:

Van registrations Jan 2010 – July 2014 (courtesy of SMMT)

Bigger is better

Although new registrations rose in all sectors of the van market in July, the biggest increases were at the top end of the weight range.

Sales of vans from 2.0t – 2.5t rose by a massive 78% to 5,365 units, compared to July 2013, while sales of 2.5t – 3.5t rose by 32.7% to 13,428 — these heavier vans drive the highest volumes in the van sector.

In contrast, sales of vans under 2.0t — a disappearing breed — rose by just 4.8% to 3,005, and are actually down by 6.6% on a year-to-date basis.