Ford vans continue to dominate the CV market

May's commercial van sales figures reveal that Ford's domination of the market shows no sign of slowing down as Ford vans continue to perform strongly.

In fact, sales of Ford vans in May were the highest for 27 years with an increase of 19% on their performance a year ago.

Ford vans are selling better than some passenger cars

Sales of new commercial vehicles are up 1.9% year-on-year, so a 19% increase in sales of Ford vans is rather impressive. Overall, Ford took 14% of the market for cars and commercial vehicles. A total of 32,935 vehicles sold was 5.6% clear of its closest competitor.

Ford also led the way in the car market with 7,440 more new vehicle registrations than its nearest rival. The Ford Fiesta remains the UK's best-selling car with over 2,500 more sales than the second-placed Volkswagen Golf.

In the UK, sales of commercial vehicles rose to 28,480 compared with 27,690 in the same period in 2015. New registrations of Ford vans sat at 9,022 - the highest since 1989 - with the Transit and its little brother, the Transit Custom, leading the way. The Transit Custom was the sixth best-selling vehicle in the top 20 cars and commercial vehicles while the Transit was 20th. Another indicator of the increase in demand for LCVs in recent times.

Ford vans lead the way

Ford's wide range of commercial vehicles - one for every class - has helped them achieve their current market status. Almost all Ford vans - Fiesta van, Transit Connect, Transit Custom, Transit and the Ranger 4�4 pickup all lead their respective class sectors.

Andy Barratt, Ford of Britain chairman and managing director, said: "We continue to consolidate and extend our long-standing UK market leadership through continued investment in exciting products and industry-leading technologies, delivered through the strongest UK dealer network. Five vehicles in the UK top 20, and a very strong performance of our CV range, with Transit Custom and Transit leading CV sales, firmly underline the success of our exciting model range. Our highly successful Ford Transit and Transit Custom commercial vehicles also benefit this summer with the launch of the all-new Ford EcoBlue diesel engine, delivering significant cost of ownership and performance improvements for our customers."

Despite the domination of Ford vans, it's heavy vans and pickups that are driving the market. Sales of large vans grew 13% compared with May 2015, making up 62% of total registrations. Demand for pickups in 2016 so far grew 9.6%, with 18,674 units registered compared to 17,041 to the same point in 2015.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: "Although May was a record breaking month for the UK's light commercial vehicle market, the pace of growth is easing and is indicative of the performance we anticipate this year following the very high levels of demand seen in 2015. Providing there are no political or economic shocks to business confidence over the coming months, we expect the LCV sector's good health to prevail during the remainder of 2016 as consumer appetite for online deliveries continues to grow."

If you are interested in our range of Ford vans, give us a call on 0845 021 0444 or enquire online!