Summer surge as demand for electric vans almost doubles in July 2023

The number of UK light commercial vehicles (LCV) registered in the UK grew for the seventh consecutive month in July 2023, increasing by 44.2% to 26,990 units. 

“It’s great news that all new van registrations are continuing to grow, having increased by 4.4% on pre-pandemic 2019 figures and that demand for battery electric vans has almost doubled since June, with a market share of 5.5% of all July van sales,” says Denise Beedell, Senior Policy Manager at Logistics UK.  

“Disappointingly though, year to date figures have seen a marginal decrease in market share for battery electric vans from 5.4% in 2022 to 5.2% this year, a trend which must be quickly reversed if the UK is to meet its decarbonisation targets. 

"To address the concerns of operators hesitating about transitioning their vans fleets to zero emission vehicles, the government must move to swiftly with measures to help with the costs of increasing power supply at depots, acquiring zero emission LCVs and ensuring that the public chargepoint network is fit for use by vans now and electric trucks in the future.”

Mike Hawes, Chief Executive at SMMT, says: “Following a solid first half, van sales have enjoyed an extremely positive month, beating even pre-pandemic levels. 

“The challenge now is to deliver even greater EV uptake, which requires urgent action to reduce soaring energy costs and increase the provision of dedicated van charging infrastructure to bolster operator confidence and meet the unique needs of this sector.  

“These are vital hurdles to overcome, more so given next year will see a ZEV mandate with minimum sales targets for every brand,” concludes Hawes.  

 *www.logistics.org.uk/campaigns    

Published On: 10/08/2023 16:00:00

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