About 25 percent fewer vans were sold last month than in February 2021, according to figures from Bovag and RDC.
In February 2022, 4,899 vans were sold, which is a quarter less than in February 2021. Looking at 2022 as a whole, the counter now stands at 10,394 light commercial vehicles, 20 percent less than in the first two months of 2021. Moreover, after two months, 2022 is the worst year of sales for vans since 2010.
A striking shift is taking place: for the first time, less than 90 percent of vans sold were equipped with a diesel engine. This is mainly due to the rise of electric delivery vans, which accounted for a market share of 6.3 percent in January and February. Bovag reports that Peugeot sold the most electric vans with 131 units. Then comes Toyota with 108 units, followed by Mercedes-Benz with 96 units and Opel with 94 units. It has not yet been determined which light commercial vehicles are generally the most popular.
De Bovag states that the chip shortage, how could it be otherwise, is the biggest cause of the sharp drop in sales. The trade association is also concerned about what is to come. On top of the chip shortage, the war in Ukraine also means a halting supply of wiring harnesses. For the same reason, several manufacturers were forced to suspend the production of passenger cars last week.
Occasions
You would say that used car sales are not affected, but there is also a decrease compared to last year. It is less substantial. In the first two months of this year, 18,676 used delivery vans were traded by the specialist trade, 6 percent less than last year. In 92.5 percent of the cases, this still concerns a delivery van with a diesel engine. Only 0.7 percent was fully electric.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl