Figures from the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) show that the market for new vans is relatively buoyant in 2024. In the UK, light commercial vehicle registrations have consistently trended upwards, with October figures registering a 3.5 per cent year-on-year increase versus 2023 over the first 10 months of the year – a figure that increases to 4.7 per cent if we remove the marginal Pickup and 4×4 categories, which are the only light commercial segments to contract in this period. This growth in new vans on UK roads has been steadier than in 2021, when pent-up demand after the pandemic played a role before 2022 saw the market fall back within touching distance of the nadir of pandemic sales. The healthy outlook in 2024 is to some extent undermined by both the stalling electrification of the UK van parc (see textbox for more) and more rapid growth achieved in some continental European markets.