UK van mileage surges by 8%

New data from the Department for Transport has revealed that van mileage on UK roads has risen by 8% since the start of the pandemic.

It found that light commercial vehicles travelled 58.2 billion miles in the year to the end of March, which is up from 57.6 billion miles during the previous 12 months and 53.7 billion miles in the 12 months to the end of March 2020.

Total mileage

Meanwhile, the total mileage for all vehicle types in the year to the end of March was 332.4 billion, which is slightly down on the 12 months to the end of March 2020.

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: “There are now a record 4.56 million vans in Britain. Vans are the backbone of many a small and big business, whether that be the sole-trader plumber or parcel-delivering Amazon.

“The challenge for the future is how quickly vans can be decarbonised when, in commercial use, the two key criteria are about minimising costs and maximising use. Happily for fleets operating vans on regular routes with overnight depot parking, the running cost savings from going electric could be significant, despite the up-front purchase-price premium.”