By Andy Picton, chief commercial vehicle editor at Glass’s

Registrations in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) market increased for the eighth month in a row, with 16,303 new vehicles hitting the road in August – a 5.0% increase.

Registrations year-to-date total 213,219 units, a 19.4% increase on twelve months ago.

The continued positive performance in August – a typically quieter month - saw the pickup sector record a 22.3% increase, while vans between 2.0 and 2.5 tonnes GVW rose by 72.1%.

Registrations in the vans under 2.0t sector fell by 30.4%, whilst those weighing between 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes, decreased by 5.1% to 11,549 units, but still represented 70.8% of all new LCVs registered during the month.

Eight months into the year and Ford hold three of the top five positions with the Transit Custom, Transit and Ranger.

The monthly statistics for August show the Ford Transit Custom and Transit retaining first and second positions.

The Stellantis Group saw the Vauxhall Vivaro finish third, the Vauxhall Combo fifth, the Citroen Berlingo ninth (491 units) and the Peugeot Boxer tenth (466 units).

The Volkswagen Transporter claimed fourth, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter sixth (721 units), the Renault Trafic seventh (678 units) and the Toyota Hilux eighth registering 522 units.

A strong month for Ford was emphasised further as they led the way with electric LCV registrations.

Registrations of the E-Transit gave Ford a 26.4% market share, equating to 7.6% of all its production in the month.

Top five LCV registrations

YTD 2023		August 2023		August 2022
Ford Transit Custom	26,357	Ford Transit Custom	1,791	Ford Transit Custom	1,903
Ford Transit	18,213	Ford Transit	1,426	Ford Transit	1,742
Vauxhall Vivaro	11,844	Vauxhall Vivaro	1,151	Vauxhall Vivaro	1,102
Ford Ranger	10,904	Volkswagen Transporter	933	Mercedes-Benz Sprinter	981
Volkswagen Transporter	10,709	Vauxhall Combo	762	Volkswagen Transporter	739

Battery electric vehicle registrations rose 18.9% to 1,122 units in August and account for 5.4% of the overall market YTD, down 0.1% on the same point in 2022.

Year-to-date, BEV registrations have reached 11,414 units, a 16.4% increase on the 9,809 units registered to this point last year.

However, diesel vehicles still make up 90% of all LCVs registered, proof that much more work needs to be done if we are to abide by the ZEV mandate quotas and end of ICE sales in 2030.

Used LCV market overview

Further increases in the volumes of used vans entering the wholesale market have been noted in August, but although prices are being squeezed on all but the very best stock, business has been brisk.

In fact, a third busier than twelve months ago. Euro 5 values have started to noticeably soften as further CAZ/ULAZ are introduced. These vehicles also tend to have been worked harder with many of them recording mileages in excess of 100,000 miles.

August in detail

The volume of sales increased 13.5% over the month, whilst average sales prices fell by 4.4% over the same period and by 16.2% on August 2022.

The average age of vehicles sold during August remained static, decreasing 0.1 months to 83.3 months. The average mileage of those vehicles increased by 2.0% to 81,487 miles. This is 0.9% (738 miles) higher than 12 months ago.

For the first time in ages, more small vans were sold at auction than any other vehicle type, accounting for 33.5% of all auction sales.

Medium vans accounted for 30.1% and large vans 25.1%. Volumes of 4x4 stock sold accounted for only 11.3% of all sales, but attracted the strongest average sales prices of £14,357, up over £400 on July.

Large vans covered more distance than any other model type at an average of 92,974 miles, nearly 3,200 miles less than July.

First-time conversion rates for August fell overall by 1.9% to 72.7% overall, but remained 0.9% higher than at the same point 12 months ago.

The best conversion rates were seen in the medium panel van sector at 75.1% (down 0.5% on July), whilst a conversion rate of 69.8% (down 5.3%) in the 4x4 pickup sector returned the lowest.

Used vehicles observed for sale in the wholesale market last month fell by over 5% to just over 39,600 units. 46.5% of all vehicles on sale were valued at £20,000 or more, while 35.4% were on sale for between £20,000 and £10,000.

At the lower end of the market, those vehicles on sale in the £10,000 to £5,000 price bracket increased again to 13.6%, whilst those on sale for less than £5,000 rose slightly to 4.5% of the overall market.