It’s set to be a record year for van registrations, with August registrations up almost 25% on last year. The boost in van sales reflects increasing buyer confidence as the economy grows, but the increase is also due to a number of manufacturers pre-registering outgoing models, which means huge discounts for van buyers.
“Strong van registrations have led to another month of continued growth for the commercial vehicle market, with the demand for light commercial vehicles continuing to build,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive.
The increase in registrations reflects the rise in demand from the growing construction industry, although a number of manufacturers may be pre-registering vehicles as they near the end of their life cycle.
That is certainly true for Land Rover and the Defender, with the 4x4 Commercial (a market that the Defender dominates) growing almost 70% to 214 units for August. The same can also be said for the Renault Trafic, Vauxhall Vivaro, Ford Transit and Mercedes-Benz Vito.
Mercedes-Benz is stockpiling the Vito and offering the van with zero percent finance ahead of the new model launch later this year. Similarly, other manufacturers are offering attractive schemes on outgoing models with huge savings on list prices.
