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Demand for LCVs falls for the fifth consecutive month in the worst April performance since 2020
Easter was late in 2025, with the school’s Easter holidays sitting right in the middle of the month. April is traditionally a low volume month with greater fluctuations thanks in part to when the financial year ends.
The largest LCV category, vans between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes, saw the greatest drop in figures. This category represents 59.6% of the market, or 1 in 6 of all new LCVs. It was down 22.9% year on year, with 12,113 vans hitting the road. Smaller vans also struggled, but to a lesser degree. Vans under 2 tonnes saw a slight decline of -5.5% to 571 vehicles, and vans between 2 and 2.5 tonnes fell by 5.8% to 4,344 vehicles.
Although they have a smaller market share than lighter vans, rigids between 3.5 and 6.0 tonnes saw a 33.6% year on year rise to 890 vehicles.
Pickups and 4x4s also saw a rise, likely reflecting the fulfilment of orders placed before the double-cab tax rule change.
|
|
April 2025 |
April 2024 |
% Change |
|
Pickups |
2,740 |
2,487 |
10.2% |
|
4x4s |
564 |
473 |
19.2% |
|
Vans <=2.0t |
571 |
604 |
-5.5% |
|
Vans 2.0-2.5t |
4,344 |
4,611 |
-5.8% |
|
Vans 2.5-3.5t |
12,113 |
15,714 |
-22.9% |
|
ALL VANS <3.5T |
20,332 |
23,889 |
-14.9% |
|
Rigids |
890 |
666 |
33.6% |
April demand for new battery electric vans (BEVs) weighing up to 4.25 tonnes grew for the seventh month running, surging by 77.5% to 1,686 units, representing 8.3% of the market – a significant 4.3 percentage point rise on the same month last year
“SMMT’s latest market outlook expects the new LCV market to fall by -4.3% to 337,000 units in 2025, almost 11,000 units fewer than expected in January, due to a more challenging economic setting and changes in vehicle taxation.”
