Record electric van uptake amid wider UK LCV market struggles
09 September 2025
The UK’s light-commercial vehicle (LCV) market continued to decline across both new and used sectors in August. However, an upswing in new electric van uptake injected some positivity into the overall picture. Andy Picton, specialist residual value analyst at Glass’s, examined the data with Autovista24 web editor James Roberts.
August saw a ninth consecutive month of decline for new LCVs in the UK, as demand fell by 13.3%. In total, 14,365 new vans, pickups and chassis variants were registered, according to SMMT data. This was 2,210 units fewer than 12 months previously. Year-to-date demand was down 11.4% to 193,846 units.
Demand shrank across all LCV-market sectors in August. Pickups witnessed a fourth successive monthly decline of 25.8%. This followed the fiscal changes to benefit-in-kind (BIK) and capital allowances. Registrations of vans under 2 tonnes (GVW) dropped 17.6%, while those weighing between 2 and 2.5 tonnes GVW declined 14% compared to August 2024.
The market for vans and chassis between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes GVW saw registrations fall by 11.5%. The 10,398 new registrations were 1,355 units fewer than in August 2024. Despite this, vehicles of this type continued to be the most popular, representing nearly 72.4% of all units registered in the UK during the month.
August marked the 11th consecutive month of growth in battery-electric van registrations up to 4.25 tonnes GVW. 1,902 units were registered, more than double the 908 recorded in the same month last year. This drove the powertrain’s market share to a record 13%, up from 5.5%, recorded in August 2024.
Year-to-date, electric van registrations continued on an upward trajectory. As of August, 17,856 all-electric models took to the UK’s roads in 2025, compared with 11,168 in 2024. This represents a 59.9% improvement for the year. The all-electric van market share increased to 9.2%, up from 5.1% at the same point last year.
Ford tops UK LCV charts once more
Ford held the top two positions in August. The Transit Custom accounted for 1,850 units, marginally ahead of the Transit with 1,733 units. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ended the month in third with 826 units, followed by the Vauxhall Combo in fourth with 746 units. The Vauxhall Vivaro completed the top five with 564 units making their way to customers.
The Toyota Hilux secured sixth with 540 units, ahead of the Volkswagen (VW) Crafter in seventh with 535 units. The Renault Trafic ended up eighth with 516 units, with the Peugeot Expert ninth with 494 units. Another French LCV, the Citroen Dispatch, rounded out the top 10 with 456 units.
BEV sales bounce skyward
In August’s battery-electric van market, Ford led the way, accounting for 31% of registrations. VW ranked second with a 16.1% share, followed by Mercedes-Benz in third at 14.2%. Peugeot prevailed in fourth, achieving a 9.5% market share, while Maxus took fifth with 8% of the market.
Vauxhall ended August in sixth with 138 units (7.2% share), while Toyota finished in seventh with 71 registrations (3.7% share). Citroen claimed eighth, selling 64 units (3.4% share), Renault slotted into ninth with 58 units (3% share), while Renault Trucks completed the top 10 with 27 units (1.4% share).
By range, the Ford E-Transit Custom accounted for 19.4% of all registrations in August. The VW.ID Buzz Cargo was second with 14.9%, and the Mercedes-Benz e-Sprinter was third with 12.8%. The Ford E-Transit came fourth with a 9.8% share, and the Vauxhall Vivaro Electric was fifth with 6.8%
Sixth went to the Maxus eDeliver 9 with 129 units (6.8% share), followed by the Peugeot e-Expert in seventh with 97 units (5.1% share). Its smaller sibling, the Peugeot e-Partner, was eighth with 84 units (4.4% share). The Citroen e-Berlingo was ninth with 47 units (2.5% share) and the Toyota Proace City Electric rounded off the top ten with 46 units (2.4% share).
After eight months, Ford registered 5,186 (29% share) new battery-electric vans, encompassing three different product ranges. In second, VW accounted for 3,447 vehicles (19.3% share) over two different product ranges. Vauxhall saw 2,086 (11.7% share) new BEVs over three different product ranges.
The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) van segment saw Ford, Toyota and VW register a combined 469 units. Ford led the way with 302 Transit Customs, 60 Transit Connects and 17 Ranger PHEVs. Toyota followed with 88 Corolla Commercials, while VW added two Caddy PHEVs. In the year-to-date figures, 6,105 hybrid LCVs were registered, with Ford claiming a dominant 77.4% share.
ZEV mandate targets currently beyond reach
Ford led the market in terms of all-electric van volumes. However, its 7.3% year-to-date share is less than half the 16% the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandated target. In contrast, second-placed VW is already ahead of the curve at 17.7%, while Mercedes-Benz holds third with 9.6%.
Investment in green LCVs is continuing at a pace. Manufacturers now offer a total of 43 different zero-emission van ranges in the UK. Nevertheless, uptake of these battery-electric vans is still below the 2025 ZEV mandated target.
The current struggles and economic pressures that businesses are facing are highlighted in the 10 months of LCV market decline. The extension of the plug-in van grant, along with the depot charging scheme, may sway some undecided customers. However, until an LCV-specific public depot and shared hub charging infrastructure is in place, the transition to a zero-emission future will likely remain slow.
Older used LCVs appealing
Compared with a bumper July, the holiday month of August saw a considerable easing of offered auction volumes and those sold. The quality of the stock on offer was not on a par with the previous month, with plenty of similar, higher-mileage vehicles offered.
A hunger for quality LCV stock remains. Buyers prefer to spend more on the finished article than risk purchasing one requiring maintenance. Older, more affordable vehicles continue to attract a growing number of buyers looking for easy-to-maintain stock with less electronic gadgetry.
Damaged or higher mileage stock has proved a popular option, if priced realistically. The UK’s most popular van, the Ford Transit Custom, continues to sell in large numbers. Prices paid take into account any mechanical issues that might need rectifying.
Heavily discounted new vans are having a detrimental effect on late-year prices at auction. Many buyers are preferring to invest in three-to-four-year-old stock. Late plate repossessions also struggle to find new homes, with vendors setting reserves too close to list prices.
Used-LCV slump in UK
As a result of a much quieter holiday month and a poorer stock offering, used-vehicle sales fell 48.7%. Of those sold, the average age increased by 21 months, and average mileage by over 13,275 miles. Unsurprisingly, average sales prices decreased by over £1,150 (€1,328) in August, to just over £8,000. Meanwhile, first-time conversion rates fell 3.4 percentage points (pp) to 84.5%.
Year-on-year, sales fell by 1.4% compared with August 2024, while average sales prices were up 14.5%. Average mileage over the last 12 months fell by over 10,000 miles. The average age is seven months younger than in August 2024, and first-time conversions were up 11.8%.
Sales of Euro 6 vehicles fell 12.2pp to a 79.1% share in August, while sales of Euro 5 stock increased 11.5pp to 17.7%. Medium vans led demand with 37.6% of sales, followed by small vans (27.7%) and large vans (25.3%).
The 4×4 pickup sector took 9.4% of the market. This was an increase of 1.7pp. However, it also commanded the highest average sales price at nearly £13,387, up over 1.4% on July. Large vans covered more distance than any other weight category in August at an average of 76,401 miles, up over 2,500 miles on July.
Double-digit used-BEV drop
Sales of used electric vans fell by nearly 33% in August. However, due to the overall poorer performing market, the zero-emission powertrain increased its share by 0.7pp, to 3.1% of the overall auction market. The average age of these models fell 3.3 months to 28.2 months and sat 16.9 months lower than the 45.1-month average recorded 12 months previously.
Average mileage increased from 14,041 miles to 19,442 miles, nearly 21% lower than in August last year. First-time conversion rates improved dramatically from 42.7% in July to 63.5%. However, average sale prices fell by 0.7%, to just under £9,500.
Medium vans accounted for nearly 46% of all sales in August, while small vans accounted for 39.2%, and the large van sector 14.9%. The latter sector accounted for the highest mileages, averaging 54,166 miles, with the lowest in the medium van sector at 12,034 miles.
Medium electric vans attained the highest average sales price at just over £10,650. The large panel van sector had the highest first-time conversion rate of 90.9%. No electric van over six years of age was sold at auction during August.
UK sees LCV diesel decline
The number of used vehicles listed for sale in the retail market fell by 2.7% in August to just under 44,000 units. Diesel models made up most of the used LCVs on sale at 89.3%, down from 91.2% in July. BEVs made up 5.2%, ahead of petrol (2.3% share) and PHEVs (1.5% share). Those with manual transmissions accounted for 69.4%, and automatic transmissions 30.6%.
Panel vans accounted for 59.2% of all LCVs on sale. Crew vans held 7.4%, and 4×4 pickups commanded 14.3%. Minibuses claimed a 3.4% share, and car-derived vans a 0.9% slice of the market.
40% of vehicles listed were priced at £20,000 or more, and 37.5% were priced between £10,000 and £20,000. Then, 18% sat in the £5,000 to £10,000 range, while only 4.5% of vehicles were priced below £5,000.
White vans led in popularity, accounting for nearly 51% of listings. Grey vans accounted for 16.9%, black with 10.1% of the market, while silver (9.4% share), blue and red followed behind. The average vehicle age increased by one month to 55 months, as did average mileage, which rose 1.25% to just over 54,125 miles.
