Throughout 2022 franchised dealers have reported strong demand for light commercial vehicles under 3.5 tonnes, but the continued restrictions to component supply have frustrated manufacturers in their ability to produce sufficient new vehicles to match orders, said Sue Robinson, Chief Executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association.
In 2022, total LCV registrations fell by –20.6%, from 355,380 units to 282,139 units, a disappointing year for the sector.
December registration figures revealed a –25.8% decrease year on year, from 29,404 units sold to 21,825 units.
All sectors experienced decline, from the sub-2.0t vans that are so often used as service vehicles (-65.4%), to the large LCV’s 2.5-3.5tonnes that dominate the market (-14.4%), which went from 243,889 units in 2021, to 208,728 in 2022.
On a more positive note, Battery Electric Vehicles have jumped from 3.6% last year, up to 5.9% this year. Going forward, potential consumers in non-metropolitan areas and in low-emission zones (LEZ) will want to see better provisions for public charging infrastructure which are more geared towards LCVs, as opposed to cars, before they make their transition to electric.
The market was dominated by models such as the Custom Transit and big Transit in first and second position, while Mercedes Sprinter took third place.