New LCV registrations continue to fall in UK as auction activity rises
13 March 2025
The UK’s new light-commercial vehicle (LCV) market continued to struggle in February. Meanwhile, sales at auction rose for a third consecutive month. Andy Picton, specialist residual value analyst at Glass’s, analyses the market with Autovista24 editor Tom Geggus.
The UK’s new LCV market fell for the third consecutive month in February. Registrations dropped by 19.3% year on year to 14,476 units.
February saw demand fall across all sectors except vans under 2 tonnes gross-vehicle weight (GVW). This LCV category saw registrations increase by 55.3% year on year. Vans weighing between 2 and 2.5 tonnes GVW recorded a 33% fall, equating to 1,043 fewer units delivered over the same month last year.
Vans in the 2.5 to 3.5 tonne GVW category recorded a registration drop of 19%. This sector delivered 9,962 new units, 2,338 down on February 2024. However, it continues to be the most popular segment, representing nearly 69% of all units registered during the month. Meanwhile, pickup registrations declined by 4.8%.
Transit lead increases
Another strong month for the Ford Transit Custom saw it extend its lead over its competitors, with 2,361 deliveries recorded. The Ford Transit (1,154 units), the Ford Ranger (1,041 units) and the Ford Transit Courier (354 units) finished in third, Fourth and 10th respectively.
Stellantis Pro One saw the Vauxhall Vivaro (1,331 units) place second, the Citroen Berlingo land in sixth (578 units) and the Peugeot Expert finish eighth (422 units). The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (935 units) took fifth, the Renault Trafic placed seventh (457 units) and the Toyota Hilux came ninth (374 units).
Registrations not meeting ambition
Registrations of battery-electric vans weighing up to 4.25 tonnes GVW increased by 55.1% in February. In total, 1,413 of these units were delivered compared to 911 units twelve months ago.
This meant the powertrain represented 9.7% of the market in February, up from its 5.1% share 12 months ago. This is the fifth consecutive month of registration growth but reflects market uptake that still struggles to match government ambition.
This year, the industry is tasked with ensuring that 16% of new van sales are zero-emission models. Currently, over half of all van models are now available with zero-emission technology. This makes the mandating of a van-specific charging infrastructure and effective government support crucial.
In the face of lacklustre operator demand, pressure is going on the government to review the ZEV mandate. The industry needs more realistic measures and flexibilities to encourage faster electric vehicle growth.
Ford leads electric LCV market
Ford accounted for 21.9% of all new electric vans registered in February. Volkswagen finished second with 18.7% and Vauxhall third with 13%. Peugeot placed fourth with 11% and Renault took fifth with 7.2%. Iveco came sixth with 6.6% (94 units), Mercedes-Benz secured seventh with 6.5% (92 units), and Toyota finished eighth with 6% (85 units). Nissan landed in ninth with 3.5% (50 units) and Maxus took 10th with 2.3% (33 units).
By range, the Volkswagen (VW) ID.Buzz Cargo represented 18.8% of all new electric van registrations in the month, reaching 265 units. Then came the Ford E-Transit Custom with 213 units and 15.1%, while the Vauxhall Vivaro Electric took third with 151 units and 10.7%. The Peugeot e-Expert finished fourth with 143 units and 10.1% and the Ford E-Transit placed fifth with 97 units and 6.9%.
The Iveco eDaily landed in sixth with 94 units and 6.7%, and the Renault Kangoo E-Tech secured seventh with 91 units and 6.4%. The Mercedes-Benz eSprinter took eighth with 87 units and 6.2%. The Toyota Proace City Electric finished ninth with 57 units and 4%. It was followed by the Nissan Townstar EV in 10th with 50 units and 3.5%.
The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) van market saw Ford, Toyota and LEVC register 391 units between them during February. Ford registered 281 Transit Custom and 27 Transit Connect with the PHEV powertrain. Meanwhile, Toyota registered 71 Corolla Commercials and LEVC delivered 12 VN5 vans.
How long can balancing act last?
Physical and online attendance at LCV auctions was positive during February. A balanced mix of stock and good buyer engagement resulted in an increase in sales over the month. Clean, low-mileage stock continued to attract the fiercest competition and strongest prices. Meanwhile, higher mileage vehicles exhibiting more damage sold below expected levels.
The supply and demand of stock to the used market seems well-balanced at present. These stable conditions are expected to remain throughout the first half of 2025. However, this balance may come under pressure towards the second half of the year and into 2026.
The fall in new LCV registrations during 2022 will impact the volume of available three-year-old stock in the used market. This will likely strengthen the residual values of vehicles in this age group.
LCV auction sales up
Sales of used vehicles at auction increased for the third consecutive month, rising over 22.5% on January. The average age of stock over this period increased from 73.3 months to 80.8 months. This was 3.5 months older compared with the average age of stock twelve months ago. However, average mileage fell 0.9% month on month to 79,627 miles, equating to a 1.6% drop from February 2024.
Of the vehicles sold at auction, 75.3% were Euro 6, down from 82% in January. On average, these vans were 56.2 months old, with a mileage of 70,698 miles, up from 71,564 miles in January.
Used electric vans made up 1.7% of used LCV sales, up from 0.7% in January. The average age of these vehicles increased from 56.9 months to 64.9 months. Meanwhile, the average mileage reached 50,192 miles. Euro 5 stock made up the remaining 22.9% of sales, up from 17.3% in January.
Medium-sized van sales accounted for 40.9% of all used LCV sales. Large vans captured 25.5% and small vans made up 25%. Pickups represented only 8.6% of sales. Yet, the segment recorded the highest average sale price of £13,188, down 4.8% on January. Large vans covered more distance than any other vehicle type at an average of 81,376 miles. This was down from 92,760 miles on the previous month.
Conversion rates fall
First-time conversion rates fell for the first time in ten months, from 84.5% in January to 73.7%. This left rates 5.1 percentage points (pp) below the same point last year.
Broken down, the best conversion rate was achieved by small vans at 78.7%, down 6.5pp on January. Pickups followed at 73%, down 8.5pp. Medium vans saw a conversion rate of 72.6%, down 12.5pp. Large vans recorded the lowest conversion rate at 70.7%, down 13.4pp.
Used vehicles observed for sale in the retail market increased by 1.8% month on month to just over 45,300 units. Of these, 92.6% were diesel models, 4.6% were all electric, 2.1% were petrol and 0.7% were PHEVs.
A total of 37.2% of all LCVs on sale were valued at £20,000 or more, while 36% were on sale for between £20,000 and £10,000. Vehicles on sale between £10,000 and £5,000 made up 21.1% of the overall market, while 5.7% were on sale for less than £5,000. White vehicles make up just over half of all vans on sale at 50.2%. This was followed by grey at 16%, silver at 10.3% and black at 10.1%.
