What Van? Britain's biggest and best van buyers' guide

The new LCV market continued to recover in May as the supply chain issues that hampered sales in 2022 steadily receded.

Predictably, registrations of vans weighing between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes, containing the dominant medium van sector, led the way, rising 8.3% year-on-year to 17,173, thus accounting for almost seven out of 10 new LCV sales. In the year to 31 May registrations of vans in this weight bracket were up 8.6% to 90,692.

It was no surprise to see the Ford Transit Custom retaining its position as the UK’s top-selling LCV in May with 3,323 units shifted and it was joined in the top ten by several other medium vans: the Vauxhall Vivaro (1,694) was third overall, the Renault Trafic (846) was eighth, the VW Transporter (760) ninth and the Peugeot Expert (702) tenth. 

The Vauxhall Vivaro remains the UK’s most popular electric van, with 1,907 units sold in the year-to-date. Vauxhall claims one in three electric vans sold in the UK during the first five months of 2023 bore its nameplate.

Looking beyond electric power, a hydrogen version of the Vivaro went into commercial production from Vauxhall’s sister brand Opel in late-2021 and is set to be brought to the UK for selected fleet customers in left-hand drive form.

Vauxhall’s parent company Stellantis is set to update its range of medium vans in 2024 with exterior styling tweaks, revised dashboards and steering wheel controls, infotainment upgrades and improved safety systems. Alongside the Vivaro, the Citroën Dispatch, Peugeot Expert and Fiat Professional Scudo should receive the changes and the Toyota Proace, which shares a platform with the Stellantis vans, could also get them.

In other product news LEVC has announced a battery upgrade for its VN5 electrified range-extender van.

It has increased the battery size from 31kWh to 34.6kWh, which means official CO2 emissions have reduced from 19g/km to 17g/km, and electric-only range has risen from 64 miles to 73 miles while combined range with the petrol engine is up from 318 miles to 328 miles.

Meanwhile, household appliance firm Miele has become the first business to add a fully-customised version of Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz Cargo electric van to its fleet. Five vans have been delivered to Miele fleets across Europe, including one to Miele GB, with features including a custom shelving system, and a centre console with integrated folding table. The customisation is said to have been part of a development process between Miele, converter Wurth, and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.