The number of light commercial vehicles operating on Britain's roads has reached its highest ever level, new figures reveal.
Data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows a 1.8% increase in van use in 2024, bringing the total to 5,102,180 units. This growth means that over one million new vans have been added to UK roads since 2015.
The rise in van numbers comes as the total number of vehicles on British roads also reached a record high of 41,964,268, a 1.4% increase compared to the previous year.
The figures also indicate a growing shift towards cleaner commercial vehicles with the number of battery electric vans in use seeing a significant increase of 31.6%, to reach 80,476 units. This means that 1.6% of all vans on UK roads are now zero-emission, demonstrating a gradual decarbonisation of the commercial vehicle parc.
In other sectors, buses are leading this trend within the commercial vehicle sector, with an 81.8% increase in zero-emission models. Electric buses now accounting for almost one in 20 buses in use in the UK.
Car ownership has also reached a new peak, growing by 1.3% to 36,165,401. This increase is partly attributed to growth in the new car market, where battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 19.6% of new registrations in 2024.
Heavy goods vehicle volumes remained largely stable, down by just 0.1% to 625,509 units.
Bus and coach numbers saw a similar small decrease of 0.1%, resulting in the UK's public transport fleet being the smallest on record.
Overall, the UK's vehicle fleet is becoming greener, with a 34.6% increase in the number of plug-in vehicles (BEVs and plug-in hybrids) on the road. These now account for 5.1% of all vehicles in use.
Battery electric cars saw the most significant growth within this sector, with volumes soaring by 38.9% to over 1.3 million units.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: "Britain’s vehicle parc is growing, providing essential mobility for the nation while reducing its environmental impact. However, there is scope to push environmental improvements much faster as motorists are holding onto their cars for longer...
"Drivers need more incentives and greater confidence in infrastructure investment if we are to replace the high volumes of older high-emission cars with zero-emission alternatives. Success will keep the country on the move while driving up economic growth from every business dependent on road transport.”
The data suggests that while the number of vans on UK roads continues to rise, reflecting their importance to the economy, there is also a growing adoption of cleaner technologies within the commercial vehicle sector.
