Russell Adams, Commercial Vehicle Manager at Lex Autolease, said:
“Despite further falls in LCV registrations, the leasing market continues to be buoyant. We’ve experienced strong growth over the past 12 months, driven largely by increased demand from tradespeople and businesses operating across construction and ecommerce. These sectors and their supply chains rely heavily on commercial vehicles to transport materials, tools, and manpower and we expect this momentum to continue in 2018.
“It’s interesting that the recent falls in registrations have been driven by fewer sales of heavier vans, where there is little in the way of alternatives to diesel. This reflects what we’re seeing in the leasing market where customer interest in electric LCVs has increased dramatically. Businesses are waiting for larger electric vans to become available and the new models set to launch in 2018 may be the stimulus needed for the zero-emission LCV market take off. But, this will hinge on manufacturers offering affordable prices and vehicles that can truly replace diesel in a variety of job roles.â€
