UK van registrations rolling year Feb '10 to Feb '16

UK van registrations unchanged in February

New van registrations in February were unchanged on last year’s record performance, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

In total, 13,891 new LCVs were registered in February, almost unchanged from the 13,832 total record last year (bearing in mind that it was a leap year this year, so February saw an extra day’s trading).

This welcome stabilisation after January’s slippage suggests to me that there is a decent level of underlying strength in the market, now that the backlog of older vans has largely been cleared out of the vehicle parc.

This graph probably tells the story of the recovery in new van registrations better than I can:

UK van registrations rolling year Feb '10 to Feb '16

UK van registrations rolling year Feb ’10 to Feb ’16 (courtesy of SMMT)

Commenting on the figures, Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said:

“After a record-breaking year for new van registrations in 2015, it was inevitable that such rapid growth would level off. The market’s performance so far this year is in line with expectations, and although further stabilisation is expected over the coming months, this is a sector in good health – with February’s figures still at high levels.”

Sales were particulary strong in the 2.5-3.5t sector, where new registrations rose by 6.2% to 8,864 units. In contrast, demand for smaller vans fell. Registrations in the 2.0-2.5t category were down by 23.9%, while sub-2.0t vans were off by 10.5%.

Ford topped the best-seller tables once more, selling 4,467 new vans — almost three times as many as second-placed Vauxhall, which shifted 1,512 vans. Volkswagen slipped into third, with Peugeot in fourth place.

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