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UK van sales see best March performance in three years

Craig Cheetham, contributor
Thu, 04 Apr 2024

UK van sales were the highest they have been in March since 2021, with a total of 52,916 new LCVs registered in the key sales month.

The figure shows an 11.1% increase over March 2023, with a total of 2906 electric vans included in the overall numbers.

Large and medium vans with a Gross Vehicle Weight of 2.0 to 3.5 tonnes were again the most popular models, though the small van market saw a 44.8% increase over March 2023.

The UK’s best-selling van remains the Ford Transit Custom, with 7809 registered in March. The larger Ford Transit and the Ford Ranger completed the top three, scoring a hat trick for Britain’s most popular commercial vehicle brand.

"A strong new plate month with the greatest number of zero emission vans joining UK roads is a bellwether of the sector’s progress, cutting emissions while keeping British businesses on the move. Rapid delivery of van-suitable public charging points and removing the hurdle of taxation on their use are key to greener fleets and a greener future," says Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive.

Ask HJ

Are there any known faults with the Ford Ranger?

I am thinking of buying a 2017 Ford Ranger 2.2 XLT 4x4 TDCi. Are there any known faults to look out for? The mileage is 64000.
The Ranger has a reasonably good reliability record, although injector failure is a known issue so look for excessive smoke under acceleration. It's not a major repair, though, as most decent garages would be able to do the job without it being too expensive. The only other real issue we've seen reported is a few engines where the oil pump has failed destroying the engine. It's rare, but we'd steer clear of anything with an incomplete service history for this reason, as dirty oil is the most common cause of pump failure.
Answered by Craig Cheetham
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