The most popular vehicle choice for courier drivers is probably a van whether it is a new or used light commercial vehicle (LCV). Therefore, if you are running your own courier service business, you may find it of interest to read that the sale of new vans in the UK in July 2025 fell in comparison to the same month last year.

According to data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the number of new light commercial vehicles registered in the UK in July 2025 in the up to 3.5 tonnes categories amounted to 23,433. In July 2024 the figure was 24,689 so that equates to a drop of 5.1%. Apparently, this is the 8th consecutive month in a row that the new van sales market has gone down and may well be causing concern within the motor trade. It is to be hoped that there is a turnaround in the fortunes of the new van sale market as soon as possible.

Looking at the figures in a little more detail, the number of new pickups sold in July 2025 totalled 1,897 compared to 2,293 in July 2024. This is a fall of 17.3%. The sale of new 4 x 4s in July 2025 amounted to 620 compared to 617 in the same month last year. This equates to a very small increase of 0.5%. New vans sold in the less than 2 tonnes category in July 2025 amounted to 738 whereas in July 2024 there were 929 new light commercial vehicles sold. That is a big fall of 20.6%. New vans sold in the 2.0 to 2.5 tonnes category totalled 4,138 compared to 4,036 in July 2024. This equates to a rise of 2.5%. New vans sold in the 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes category amounted to 16,040 whereas in July 2024 the figure was 16,814 – a drop of 4.6%.

The top 5 selling new vans in the UK in July 2025 were: –

1. Ford Transit Custom 3,784
2. Ford Transit 2,461
3. Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 1,257
4. Vauxhall Vivaro 1,125
5. Citroen Berlingo 918

On a year to date basis to July 2025, in the categories up to 3.5 tonnes the number of new light commercial vehicles registered amounted to 179,481 compared to 202,309 for the same period in the previous year. This is a significant drop of 11.3%. The biggest fall was in the 2.0 to 2.5 tonnes category with a reduction of 18.4%.

As we said earlier, let us hope that the new van sales market picks up sooner rather than later.