The new light commercial vehicle (LCV) market declined for the fifth straight month in May, with new registrations down 25.1% against the same point last year.
Although set against a record May 2021, registration levels were still 21.5% down the pre-pandemic average.
May registrations totalled 22,000 units exactly, against 29,354 units 12 months ago.
For the third month in a row, all sectors recorded falls in registrations.
Vans below 2.0 tonne declined 53.4%, whilst vans between 2.0-2.5t gross vehicle weight (GVW) fell 33.4%.
The 2.5-3.5 tonne sector – which made up over 72.0% of all vans registered in the month – dropped 19.4%, whilst the pickup sector returned a 26.9% fall.
Ford continue to deliver, registering 59.5% of the top ten models to hit the road in May.
With the Transit Custom again at number one, registering 3,244 units, the Ford Transit at two with 2,851 units, the Ford Ranger at five with 1,115 units and the Ford Transit Connect in eighth with 719 units.
The Vauxhall Vivaro, Citroen Relay and Citroen Dispatch from Stellantis finished in fourth (1,211 units), ninth (632 units) and tenth (618 units) respectively.
Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volkswagen filled the remaining top-ten positions. The Vauxhall Vivaro-e remains the best-selling electric van in the UK with 212 units registered in May and 1,424 YTD.
