Electric van registrations have surged ahead this year, with sales currently sitting 68.9% ahead of 2021’s first-quarter results. By the end of March, 4,297 electric vans had been registered, compared to 2,544 the previous year.
The Vauxhall Vivaro-e is the UK’s best-selling electric van, with 836 models registered year-to-date – that’s almost one in five new electric vans on the road.
Vauxhall’s share of the electric van market has been rising, growing from 19% to 22.7% over the last 12 months. Alongside Stellantis sister brands Citroen and Peugeot, Vauxhall is one of a handful of manufacturers able to offer electric variants across its entire LCV portfolio.
Peugeot takes the honours of being the market leader in Q1 2022, as the only brand to exceed 1,000 electric van registrations so far this year.
In common with Citroen and Vauxhall, the Peugeot range of electric vans – the e-Partner, e-Expert and e-Boxer – means customers can choose emissions-free options from across its entire model lineup. Every electric vehicle in the range uses clever packaging of the battery pack and motor to ensure there is no reduction in load volume when compared to the more traditional diesel-powered options.
Julie David, managing director at Peugeot UK, said: “We’re proud to be one of the few in the market who can offer such versatility of powertrains to our LCV customers, and the results we have seen so far in 2022 are extremely encouraging. We look forward to continuing to support our business customers with transitioning to electric.”
Vauxhall’s managing director, Paul Willcox, said: “The electric Light Commercial Vehicle segment is a small, but rapidly growing and vitally important sector for the industry. As more businesses look to reduce their running costs and emissions, e-LCV sales will only keep growing in the future. It’s fantastic to see the Vivaro-e remain the go-to choice for many of the fleets and businesses choosing to go electric.”
Last year, Citroen, Peugeot and Vauxhall parent company Stellantis announced a £100 million investment in its Ellesmere Port manufacturing plant, transforming the site for electric vehicle manufacturing. Ellesmere Port will become the first Stellantis plant to produce a solely battery-electric model, in both commercial and passenger versions, by the end of this year.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “Targeted support from government is needed to encourage fleet renewal and a full zero-emission van market. The expansion of the Plug-in Van Grant
will be a positive for the sector, but equally there needs to be a greater roll-out of suitable chargepoints to ensure fleet and self-employed van operators in all regions can make the transition.”
