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New light commercial vehicle (LCV) registrations fell by -7.8% in the first month of 2026. Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) report 17,562 vans, pickups and 4x4s joining UK roads, the weakest start to a year since 2012’s 16,049 registrations.
The decline was driven by a -57% decline in demand for new pickups to 1,206 units, possibly caused by fiscal changes to treat double cabs as cars for benefit in kind and capital allowance purposes. Demand for medium vans also fell, by -27.4% to 2,547 units, while the lower volume small van segment contracted by -39.8% to 402 units. Only large vans and 4x4s posted growth, up 10% to 12,696 units and 33.9% to 711, respectively.
Headline growth in electric van registrations was positive, with uptake rising 26% to 1,844 units - with a market share of 10.4%.
The latest industry outlook for 2026 has been revised downwards, with 321,000 units expected to be delivered this year – a 1.9% increase on 2025. While the latest BEV outlook expects more than 50% growth this year, the market share has been revised down to 13.1%, from the 14% share expected in the last outlook.
Meanwhile, the UK new car market grew by 3.4% in January to reach 144,127 units. This represents the best start to a year since pre-pandemic 2020. Growth was recorded across all buyer types, with registrations by private retail buyers up 4.5% and fleets increasing by 1.6%, while the low-volume business segment rose 46.5%. Fleets remained by far the largest source of new car registrations, accounting for 61.2% of the market.
Uptake of battery electric vehicles rose just 0.1% to 29,654 units – delivering a 20.6% market share, the lowest since April 2025. The largest growth was again recorded in plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), rising 47.3% to account for 12.9% of registrations. Hybrid electric vehicles posted a 4.8% increase, comprising 13.4% of the market.
The latest market outlook forecasts new car registrations to grow 1.4% over 2026 to reach 2.048 million units – a more optimistic outlook than that previously published in October.
