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

With semi-conductor supply issues continuing to hit the market hard, sales of compact vans weighing under 2.0t were down 55.1% in the first half of the year to 4,326, the biggest drop in any segment, according to the Society of Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), while sales of vans in the 2.0 to 2.5t bracket fell 27.7% to 19,804 compared to the same period in 2021.

In a sign of the Stellantis group’s growing colonisation of the sector, the only two compact vans to appear in the top 10 sellers’ list for the year to 30 June, were the Citroën Berlingo at number seven (5,225) and the Peugeot Partner (4,818) at number eight.

The Stellantis giant’s sphere of control also includes the Vauxhall Combo, next-generation Fiat Professional Doblo Cargo as well as the Toyota Proace City, which is built on the group’s compact van platform.

When it comes to smaller city vans, the future is less secure. Fiat Professional’s Fiorino will continue as a diesel for the time being but there will be no subsequent Stellantis-developed electric version, meaning it will be axed in due course, suffering the same fate as its siblings the Citroën Nemo and Peugeot Bipper, which were withdrawn five years ago.

Car-derived vans were once a staple of the compact van sector but have become marginalised in recent years. Toyota, however, is bucking the trend with the launch of its Corolla Commercial (pictured), which it builds at its plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire.

Developed from the Corolla Sports passenger car, the Commercial has a load space of 1.3m³, a payload of 425kg and is licenced to tow 759kg. It employs Toyota’s fourth generation full-hybrid technology, which delivers 105g/km CO2 on the WLTP cycle with fuel economy of up to 61.4mpg, according to the manufacturer.

Toyota is offering the vehicle in a single specification with standard features such as an 8in multimedia display, smartphone integration, reversing camera, dual-zone aircon and heated seats. The Corolla Commercial is priced £22,149, excluding VAT. 

A more conventional compact van is Renault’s Kangoo and the manufacturer has confirmed details of the new model, including the E-Tech electric variant, that will arrive in showrooms in October. The E-Tech features a 121hp electric motor, and a 45kWh battery allowing a range of up to 186 miles under WLTP testing.