Registrations of new light commercial vehicles (LCVs) soared 21.0% in 2023, with record numbers of battery electric vans (BEVs) hitting the roads but no advances in BEV market share.

With the ambitious ZEV mandate now in place, 10% of every van manufacturer’s sales in the UK must be BEVs this year

Businesses and fleets invested in 341,455 LCVs across the whole of the year. That’s up by 59,316 units on 2022 but down on the figure of 355,380 vehicles in 2021 when the market bounced back post-pandemic. Nonetheless, 2023 was down just 6.6% on 2019 levels.

December was particularly strong, with demand up 36.1% to 29,701 units, hitting the highest total for the month since 2015’s figure of 30,410 units.

The full-year results show that the largest vans (weighing more than 2.5 tonnes to 3.5 tonnes) rose 9.4% to 228,442 registrations and continued to account for the lion’s share of demand – representing 66.9% of all new vans as operators opted for payload efficiencies.

However, medium-sized vans (weighing above two tonnes to 2.5 tonnes) saw the largest percentage growth, surging by 78.4% to 57,992. That’s due to their ability to still able to carry heavy loads while at the same time delivering the smaller vehicle size requirements of urban operators.

Demand for pickups and 4x4s also rose, by 38.7% and 127.7% to 41,003 and 8,063 units respectively.

Meanwhile, registrations of the smallest vans (weighing equal to or less than two tonnes) declined by 23.7% to 5,955 units.

2023 also saw businesses go electric in record numbers, with 20,253 units registered, up 21.0%, replicating the percentage rise for the new van market as a whole. This meant that the full-year market share remained at 5.9%; the same as 2022. However, December’s BEV performance was noteworthy; uptake jumped 73.8% to 2,964 units and accounted for 10.0% of registrations in the month – the second highest-ever monthly BEV share.

The year-end performance puts the sector in a good position to meet the newly implemented ZEV mandate – which requires 10% of every van manufacturer’s sales in the UK to be zero emission this year.

However, the SMMT has warned that while the UK is the third largest BEV market in Europe by volume, it’s behind several other European nations by market share, including Germany, France and Spain.

And it says that ensuring LCV demand matches supply presents a major challenge, given the flatlined market share of BEVs in 2023 compared with 2022.

Immediate action to reduce existing barriers to BEV uptake is crucial, therefore – and the single biggest obstacle is the insufficient number of van-suitable public chargers – requiring significant infrastructure investment in every UK region.

The industry body also says a long-term commitment to the Plug-in Van Grant will be necessary to make the switch accessible and equitable for operators across all sectors and parts of the country. While the grant was extended in March 2022 and is available until 2024/25, support beyond then hasn’t been confirmed.

Speaking at the BVRLA’s recent Fleets in Charge webinar, the Government has said it recognises the challenges for van decarbonisation and provided assurances that further solutions are under development to support fleets.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “As the UK’s ambitious mandate for electric van sales comes into effect, every lever must be pulled to make the switch accessible for fleets in every region. If 2024 is to be the year of the electric van, investment in charge point infrastructure is mission-critical – bringing with it the successful green transition and economic growth the nation needs.”