The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMT) says the new light commercial vehicle (LCV) market grew 8.6% in January, with more than 22,000 new vehicles in this category joining UK roads in the first month of 2019.

The findings equate to an uplift of 1,761 vehicles as compared to January 2018.

Commercial vehicles weighing less than  2.0 tonnes also saw an increase of 31.7%, along with pickups (13.4%). Demand for larger vans also grew by 7.1%.

However, medium sized vans weighing 2.0-2.5 tonnes fell by 3.9%.

New models and proactive sales campaigns have been attributed to the rise in demand.

Discussing the findings, Mike Hawes, chief executive SMMT, said: January’s positive performance follows a mixed 2018, which finished on a particularly poor December, so some bounce-back was to be expected. Further fluctuations in demand are predicted over the coming months as the UK’s post-Brexit future remains uncertain. 

“Operators need stability to invest and renew their fleets, which now depends on government providing the right conditions starting with removing the threat of ‘no-deal’.”