UK new LCV market delivers modest growth in May
12 June 2026
New light-commercial vehicle (LCV) registrations in the UK recorded a second consecutive month of growth in May. This was supported by strong demand for electric vans. Andy Picton, specialist residual value analyst at Glass’s, examines the data with Autovista24 content specialist James Roberts.
The UK’s new LCV market recorded growth in May 2026, with registrations rising 3.6% to 23,620 units, SMMT data reveals. This marked the second consecutive month of improvement; the first time this has occurred since October 2024.
However, despite this increase, the performance across the first five months of the year remains slightly behind 2025. A total of 127,046 LCVs were registered between January and May. This was down 0.6%, compared with the 127,875 units recorded over the same period last year.
Market performance in May remained uneven across the different LCV segments. Pickup registrations continued to decline sharply, falling 57.7% to just 1,138 units. This reduced their market share to 4.8%, down from 11.8% a year prior.
Vans under 2 tonnes gross vehicle weight (GVW) saw registrations drop by 24.5%. Meanwhile, those weighing between 2 and 2.5 tonnes GVW recorded a delivery decline of 7.5%.
In contrast, the large-van segment, weighing between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes GVW, recorded robust growth of 18.6%, reaching 17,380 units. These accounted for 73.6% of all registrations in May. Meanwhile, 4×4 registrations rose 16.2% year on year to 832 units.
Ford models retain LCV dominance
Ford remained dominant in the UK LCV market, with the Transit Custom and Transit securing the top two in May.
The Peugeot Partner claimed third, followed by the Volkswagen (VW) Transporter in fourth. The Maxus Deliver 9 completed the top five.
Further down the top 10, the Renault Trafic and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter took sixth and seventh, respectively. The Land Rover Defender ranked eighth, ahead of the Vauxhall Vivaro and VW Crafter in ninth and 10th places.
Spanning January to May, the Ford Transit Custom continued to lead with 19,570 units registered. It was followed by the Ford Transit with 9,679 units.
Electric van uptake grows but remains below targets
Battery-electric van registrations up to 4.25 tonnes GVW saw solid growth in May, rising 35.5% to 2,345 units. This equated to a market share of 9.8%, up from 7.6% in the same month of 2025.
Despite this progress, diesel still dominated the sector, accounting for 83.9% of all new deliveries. This underlines the enormity of the task ahead in transitioning to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).
Over the first five months of 2026, battery-electric LCV registrations reached 12,180 units, an increase of 15.9% year on year. This carved out an overall market share of 9.5%, an improvement on the 8.2% achieved in 2025. Yet the result was still significantly below the UK’s 24% ZEV mandate target for LCVs in 2026.
High upfront vehicle costs, rising energy prices and ongoing charging infrastructure challenges continue to limit faster adoption. This is despite an increasingly broad range of electric LCVs available.
Volkswagen leads electric LCV segment
VW headed the battery-electric LCV market in May, accounting for 35.3% of the registrations. Ford followed with a 25.6% share, while Kia placed third with 13.6%. Maxus and Renault completed the top five manufacturers for the month with 5% and 3.6%, respectively.
Between January and May, VW emerged as the leading battery-electric LCV brand, with a 27.2% share. Ford followed with a 25.6% hold of the market, while Kia took 17.6%.
By model, the VW ID.Buzz Cargo led the way, followed by the VW e-Transporter and Ford E-Transit Custom. The Kia PV5 and Ford E-Transit rounded out the top five.
Lower down the rankings, the Ford E-Transit took fifth with a 7.8% share of registrations. The Maxus eDeliver 9 followed in sixth with a 4.1% share. This was ahead of the Ford E-Transit Courier in seventh with 2.7%.
The Toyota Proace Electric ranked eighth with a 2% share, while the Mercedes-Benz e-Citan finished ninth with a 1.7% share. The Renault Master E-Tech completed the top 10, representing 1.6% of the market.
After five months, the Kia PV5 topped the electric van market, taking a 17.6% share. The Ford E-Transit Custom sat in second with 16.2%, closely followed by the VW ID.Buzz Cargo in third with 16.1%. The VW e-Transporter ranked fourth with an 11.1% share. The Ford E-Transit Courier completed the top five with 5.2%.
Hybrid segment expands rapidly
The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) segment also continued to grow. A total of 1,108 LCVs powered by the technology were registered in May, driven largely by Ford.
The manufacturer dominated this category, with the Transit Custom PHEV leading, alongside the Ranger and Transit Connect variants. VW and Toyota also contributed, with the Caddy PHEV and Corolla Commercial, respectively.
Between January and May, hybrid registrations reached 7,296 units, up 41.9% compared to the same point in 2025. Ford accounted for over 80% of this market, underlining its strong position in electrified LCVs.
Used market remains resilient
In the used LCV market, demand remained strong overall, supported by high buyer engagement at auction. Well-maintained, low-mileage vehicles with a full-service history continue to command the greatest interest and strongest prices.
However, a clear two-tier market is emerging. Older, high-mileage vehicles, particularly those in poorer condition, are proving harder to sell. This is unless priced competitively or improved through refurbishment.
Retail demand showed some softness in May. The influence of bank holidays, school half-term periods, favourable weather and wider economic uncertainty all likely played a part.
Auction activity increases in May
Auction activity strengthened notably in May, with volumes rising by 31.3% compared with April. Average vehicle age fell by 2.2 months to 69.9 months, while mileage declined to 76,583 miles from over 82,500 miles a month earlier.
Average sale prices increased by 6.3% to £8,278 (€9,594). However, first-time conversion rates softened, slipping 2.4 percentage points (pp), to 74%, leaving them 5.7pp below the level recorded a year ago.
Euro 6 vehicles continued to dominate auction sales, accounting for 87.2% of transactions. Meanwhile, Euro 5 models made up 9.5% of the total, down from April.
Medium vans remained the most in demand with a 37.8% share, followed by large vans at 29.1%, and small vans at 21.1%. Pickups and 4x4s accounted for 12% of sales, gaining 0.8pp month on month, and achieved the highest average values at just over £13,550, around £2,300 higher than in April.
Large vans continued to cover the greatest distances, averaging 89,089 miles, up by more than 4,300 miles month on month. This segment also achieved the strongest first-time conversion rate at 77.8%, in contrast to the 4×4 category, which recorded the lowest at 67.7%.
Demand rises for used electric vans
Interest in used battery-electric LCVs at auction is increasing. This looks to be supported by improved market understanding and greater transparency around battery condition. The inclusion of battery health data is helping buyers make more informed purchasing decisions.
This growing confidence translated into a 37% rise in used sales during May. The average age of vehicles sold increased slightly to 38 months, while mileage rose to 21,917 miles. Despite this marginally older and higher-mileage profile, demand for well-presented stock remained strong.
Average sale prices climbed by 3.8% in May to just under £10,300. First-time conversion rates improved sharply to 87%, up from 84.1% in April.
Medium-sized battery-electric vans dominated proceedings, accounting for more than two-thirds of all sales, with small vans taking a further 29%. Small vans also recorded the highest average mileage at close to 23,450 miles, while medium vans delivered the strongest values at just under £11,400. Large battery-electric vans achieved a perfect first-time conversion rate of 100%.
Only 3% of all-electric models sold during the month were older than six years. This highlights the relatively young profile of stock entering the used market.
Retail supply stable but under pressure
The number of used LCVs available in the retail market remained broadly unchanged in May at just under 42,300 units. However, supply was down significantly year on year, falling by nearly 12.7%.
Diesel models continued to dominate listings, accounting for 90.3% of all vehicles on sale. Battery-electric vans represented 5.8% of the market, ahead of PHEVs at 2.2% and petrol models at 1.7%. Manual transmissions remained the preferred choice, featuring in 66% of listings.
Panel vans made up the majority of available stock at 56.9%, while 4×4 vans and pickups accounted for 16.8%. Crew vans represented 9% of listings, followed by minibuses at 3.7%, with dropsides, Lutons and tippers each making up smaller shares.
Meanwhile, 41.1% of vehicles had covered 30,000 miles or less, while 29.2% fell between 30,000 and 70,000 miles. At the higher end, 13.3% had exceeded 100,000 miles.
Pricing remained weighted towards the upper brackets, with 43.1% of vehicles listed at £20,000 or more. A further 38.4% were priced between £10,000 and £20,000, while 15% sat in the £5,000 to £10,000 range. Only 3.5% were listed below £5,000. In total, 74.2% of adverts displayed prices excluding VAT.
White continued to dominate as the most popular used LCV colour, accounting for 47.6% of listings. Grey followed at 18.6%, with black taking 11%, and silver following with 9.6%. Then came blue at 6.4%, and red with 2.1%.
The average vehicle age in the retail market edged up to 56 months. Meanwhile, average mileage fell slightly to just over 55,650 miles. This reflects the underlying demand for younger, lower-mileage stock.
