BEVs star as UK new commercial-vehicle registrations fall again in June

19 July 2022

Andy Picton, chief commercial vehicle editor at Glass’s (part of Autovista Group), delves into new and used light-commercial vehicle (LCV) market figures in June.

The UK’s new LCV market recorded its sixth straight month of decline in June. Component shortages continue to hamper deliveries of new stock.

However, registrations of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) in the market are improving, albeit on substantially smaller numbers than their petrol and diesel counterparts. Manufacturers are ramping up production of electric LCVs as the industry looks to meet their 2030 obligations in conjunction with tighter CO₂ emissions targets.

The shortage of components, including semiconductors, is leading to production shortages and vehicle delivery delays. This has seen new UK LCV registrations down 23% against a buoyant market twelve months ago, and 26.5% down on the country’s pre-pandemic average for the month.

There were 26,443 units registered in June, against 34,363 12 months ago. BEVs totalled 2,015 units, up 52.4% on 2021 and representing 7.6% of all new vans registered in the month. This highlights the increasing interest in the technology, as ranges increase. However, the market is still around two-years behind the passenger car market in terms of sales trajectories, according to the SMMT.

Year to date (YTD) registrations of 144,384 units were 24.6% down on the same point in 2021. YTD BEV registrations stand at 8,100 units and make up 5.6% of the overall LCV market. This figure is up 60.0% on 2021.

Continuing declines in all sectors

For the fourth month in a row, all commercial vehicle (CV) sectors recorded falls in registrations. Vans below 2.0 tonnes declined 30.7%, whilst Vans between 2.0-2.5t gross vehicle weight (GVW) fell 43.7%. The 2.5-3.5 tonne sector – which made up over 77.3% of all vans registered in the month – dropped 16.3%, whilst the pickup sector returned a 37.6% drop.

Ford continues to deliver the best-selling vans, with the Transit Custom again at number one, registering 3,707 units, the Ford Transit in second with 3,531 units, the Ford Ranger in fifth with 1,319 units and the Ford Transit Connect in eighth with 953 units. The Vauxhall Vivaro, Citroen Relay and Peugeot Boxer from automotive manufacturing group Stellantis finished in third (1,878 units), seventh (1,061 units) and 10th (884 units) respectively. Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Renault filled the remaining top-10 positions. The Vauxhall Vivaro-e remains the best-selling electric van in the UK with 809 units registered in June and 2,649 YTD.

Top five LCV registrations

Source: SMMT

Prices drop in used-LCV market

Prices dropped in the used-LCV market as sales of used stock at auction rose last month. On average, over 200 more units sold with lower mileages and at higher first-time conversion rates. However, the average amount paid to secure these vehicles dropped by nearly 3%.

Glass’s auction data shows that the overall number of vehicles sold increased by 7.4% versus May, but was 27.8% lower than the same point 12 months ago. The average sales price for the month decreased by 2.7%, and was 3.1% lower than in June 2021.

The average age of vehicles sold during June decreased by 2.9 months to 73.2 months, whilst the average mileage also reduced – from 83,679 miles to 81,198 over the same period. The latest average mileage is over 9,500 miles more than 12 months ago. First-time conversion rates for June rose for the second consecutive month, up from 69.4% in May to 71.4%.

Used vehicles observed for sale in the wholesale market over the last month rose by 1.2% to nearly 41,150 units. Nearly 46.2% of vehicles were on sale for over £20,000 (€23,476), just under 38% for between £20,000 and £10,000, 12.1% between £10,000 and £5,000 and just under 4.5% for £5,000 or less.