New van registrations rose by 17.1% during November 2014, compared to the same period last year, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Truck registrations plummeted, falling by 49.6% in the wake of the introduction of the new Type Approval regulations — a topic I discussed last month, when it created an artificial boost in pre-Type Approval sales (in short, operators were registering new trucks in October so they could be fitted with bodies post-registration, thus avoiding the need to comply with the new Type Approval rules which now govern conversions of unregistered vehicles).

Over the year to date, van registrations are up by 18% in 2014, while truck registrations (commercial vehicles over 3.5t) are down by 14%.

Van and truck registrations, rolling year changes from Jan 2010 – November 2014 (courtesy of SMMT)

Commenting on the figures, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said that “buoyant consumer confidence and a rise in home deliveries” were behind the “surging demand for vans”.

The figures suggest he’s correct, with registrations of vans between 2.5t and 3.5t — the size commonly used for home delivery and courier work — rising by 17.1%, or 2,378 units, to 16,084 in November. This increase maintained the 18.8% growth seen in this category for the year to date.

The second biggest category, in volume terms, is vans from 2.0-2.5t. New registrations in this category rose by 31.6% in November, but as total sales registrations were only 4,708, this remains less significant, in terms of numbers, than the larger category.

As I’ve commented before, the UK van market appears to be in rude health, which I take to indicate improved confidence and recovery for businesses of all sizes, as well as being a natural consequence of the financial crisis, during which many companies postponed new vehicle purchases or bought used.