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New light commercial vehicle sales fell -12.1% to 156,048 units in the first half of 2025. LDV sale s have fallen every month this year.
Year to date, new BEV purchases remain at just 8.6% of the overall market, however, just over half the 16% share mandated by government.
Year-to-date performance was led by declining demand for the largest vans, by -14.8% with 99,790 registered, as well as deliveries of medium sized vans, down -20.9% to 26,408 units. 4×4 uptake also fell, by -6.0% to 4,041 units.
There was growth, however, in demand for small vans, up 30.7% to 4,907 units, but could not soften the overall market decline as a lower volume segment.
There was also strong uptake of new pickups in the half-year period, up 10% to 20,902 units, but this was skewed by two consecutive months of decline following April’s introduction of new fiscal measures to treat double cabs as cars for benefit in kind and capital allowance purposes.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said, “Half a year of declining demand for new vans reflects a difficult economic climate and weak business confidence and the fact that this downturn comes just as industry invests heavily to expand its zero emission LCV offering is particularly concerning.
“Decarbonisation remains a shared ambition but with the EV market more than a third below this year’s target, bold measures are needed to drive demand. Accelerated CV infrastructure rollout, quicker grid connections and streamlined planning are now critical.”
