UK van registrations rose by 21.0% in 2023 to 341,455, almost 60,000 registrations more than in 2022. Predictably it was the largest vans between 2,500kg and 3,500kg GVW that recorded the greatest number of registrations, up 9.4% to 228,442. Only small vans up to 2,000kg GVW registered a reduction, down 23.7% to 5,955.

The outlook for the economy is decidedly mixed in 2024, but fleets have a continuing need to renew their vehicles. They will have a growing number of vehicles to choose from too. I recently attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, to see some interesting developments from Kia, among other things. CES has become the launchpad for a number of vehicles in recent years and Kia introduced a range of vans at the show, with the first expected to reach the UK in 2026. The entire range will be electrically powered.

Ford also gave us the chance to drive the Transit Courier and find out more about Ford’s future plans for its smaller vans. This is the sector of the market that has not seen growth in 2023 and it will be interesting to see if Ford can revive the fortunes in that area. There are still additional vans to appear among the Transit Courier’s rivals, with more variants of the Renault Kangoo, Mercedes-Benz Citan and Nissan Townstar yet to arrive.

The new models keep on coming with the Maxus eDeliver 7, which will be the Chinese brand’s competitor in the medium van sector. It doesn’t end there either. There are the revised vans in the Citroën, Fiat, Peugeot and Vauxhall ranges that should be making their way into dealers at the moment. We should also be seeing the Renault Trafic E-Tech electric and Mercedes-Benz eSprinter soon too. So, fleets will have more choices when renewing their vehicles in 2024 and we will keep you up to date on the new arrivals and much more.