Slide in van sales gathering pace

While the new car market is on the up, a van market that held up strongly through 2011 has now hit a serious slide.

Van registrations plummeted by almost 20 per cent in April, the fourth negative month in a row.

According to new figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), registrations fell 19.8 per cent in April with 14,508 units recorded.

Year-to-date figures are down 15.7 per cent to 76,196, with only the rolling-year figure (ie the last 12 months) up, by just 1.1 per cent to 245,927.

All van sectors fell in April, with pickups and sub 2-litre vans showing the biggest slide In the first four months of 2012 only 4x4s are showing a rise, of just 3.1 per cent.

SMMT Chief Executive Paul Everitt believes a strong performance in 2011 has affected the van market this year; “The relative strength of the 2011 van market continued to dent 2012 performance with the ‘up to 3.5t’ market dropping 19.8 per cent in the month.

However he points to the new vehicles unveiled at last month’s CV show as key to future growth; “Last month’s CV Show saw the launch of a host of new sophisticated and efficient vehicles that will be important to the sector’s performance through the rest of 2012 and beyond.”

Ford remains the market leader, with 24 per cent of registrations in April led by its Transit. Volkswagen has 14 per cent, just ahead of Vauxhall on 13.4 per cent.

Words by: Andrew Charman