New van sales up 20% last year
18th February 2011
With 222,915 van sales in the UK last year, demand was almost 20% up on 2009 as the market started recovering from recession, reports the Society of Motor 
Manufacturers & Traders.
- Light vans – up 41.4% to 48,309.
- Medium vans – up 21.2% to 27,520.
- Heavy vans – up 18.7% to 126,197.
- Pick-ups – up 3.4% to 19,508.
Vans rose in all but one month in 2010, boosted by better than expected business confidence and improved output from the construction sector.
“While we still have a long way to go to get volumes back to pre-recession levels, we expect more growth in 2011 and 2012,” said Paul Everitt, the head of the SMMT.
Sue Robinson of the Retail Motor Industry Federation said: “Van sales have been strong throughout 2010, and December in particular saw strong sales, with a 21.7% improvement on the same month in 2009.”