Record number of vans now on British roads

The number of vehicles on British roads reached its highest ever level in 2024, rising by 1.4 per cent to 41,964,268, according to new Motorparc data published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Van use grew to record levels, up 1.8 per cent to 5,102,180 units, with more than one million of these workhorses added to roads since 2015.

Heavy goods vehicle volumes remained almost unchanged, down just -0.1 per cent or 364 units, at 625,509 units.

Bus and coach volumes fell by just -0.1 per cent to 71,718 units, although this means that the UK public transport fleet is now the smallest since records began.

Britain’s vehicle parc continues to decarbonise, with a 34.6 per cent increase in plug-in vehicles (BEV and plug-in hybrid) – now accounting for one in 20 (5.1 per cent), or 2,157,360 vehicles in use.

Its commercial vehicle parc is also decarbonising, with buses leading the way with an 81.8 per cent increase in zero emission units on last year to 3,494 – accounting for almost one in 20 (4.9 per cent) buses in use.

Vans, which support businesses across the region, are also increasingly going zero-emission, with battery electric van volumes increasing by 31.6 per cent to 80,476 units – or 1.6 per cent of the parc.

Electric truck use also rose, but overall they account for fewer than 0.1 per cent of the fleet.