New van sales neared record levels in the first half of 2021 as a result of a boom in home deliveries.

       This year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers recorded 191,513 new van registrations – with nearly 35,000 in June alone – marking a 75.9 per cent increase in sales compared with the first half of 2020.

       The figures for the first half of 2021 represent the third-best year-to-date performance for light commercial vehicle registrations, and saw a 1.8 per cent increase above the average for 2015-2019.

       While June’s van registrations were up 14.4 per cent over 2020 figures, this is largely due to a sluggish performance in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic; June 2020’s figures were actually down 13.9 per cent compared with 2019, although this was largely due to a shortage in semi-conductors.

       SMMT said that the demand for new vans was “bolstered” by operators looking to renew and expand their fleets in order to meet the growing demand for online delivery.

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       Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “It’s good to see the van market continue to perform well, with pent up demand, online retail and the construction sectors all on the rise.

       “Semi-conductor supply issues have extended lead times, but business confidence is growing and fleets are embarking on decarbonisation programmes.

       Full market transition, however, still depends on the creation of nationwide charging infrastructure to support society and maintain commercial vehicle momentum.”

       There are currently more than 35,000 charge points across the UK, and earlier this year, the government’s energy regulator approved a plan that would see 3,350 new charge points added.

       Royal Mail is set to introduce 3,000 new electric vans to its green fleet in October. These new electric vans will be used on existing Royal Mail delivery routes, and will expand its fleet to around 3,300 vans.

       In an effort to ensure the increasing numbers of vans on Britain’s roads are driving safely, Logistics UK has launched a new online course, Van Driver Safety Training.