Uncertainty in the UK economy, and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) mandating electric vehicle (EV) adoption, are both impacting new light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales according to Shoreham Vehicle Auctions (SVA).
New LCV sales fell by 12.1% in the first six months of 2025, according to the latest SMMT figures.
A lack of confidence in the economy – and some OEMs insisting fleets buy new electric vans to help them meet their ZEV Mandate targets – has slowed the market down according to SVA’s MD Alex Wright.
Alex Wright, MD at SVA, said: “New LCV sales are a barometer of how companies are feeling about the economy.
“The fact sales are falling tells us how they are feeling and until they are more optimistic buying new LCVs will not appear on their radar anytime soon.”
He added: “That spells good news for the used market as more companies will look to buy a used instead of a new van.
“That should keep demand and prices strong for used vehicles for the rest of 2025, and we are already seeing some LCVs make £1-2k above book when they go under the hammer.”
The other major trend according to SVA is the increasing number of small to medium fleet operators buying used vehicles at Shoreham’s weekly LCV sale.
Most operators still consider electric vans as unfit for purpose with their range and payload combination poor; they are expensive, require a charging infrastructure on site and drivers need to take time out of their working day to charge their vehicle.
Therefore, operators only want to buy diesel vans which are readily available at auction.
Wright said: “This mandated approach by OEMs is putting off operators from buying new vans across the board as the majority cannot currently justify adding electric vehicles to their fleet as they will compromise rather than add value to their operations.”
He added: “Until OEMs change this strategy then smaller fleets will continue to buy 12-18-month-old diesel vans at auction that are predominantly being entered by the big rental fleets.
“SMEs are also buying used two to three-year old vans currently rather than signing up to expensive new vans on finance as they are uncertain how the economy will affect their businesses in the coming months.”
