Commercial vehicles: stats and facts
The last few years have been marked by uncertainty for many industries – automotive included. A number of changes have occurred and the commercial vehicle market has not been immune to this.
In the UK, commercial vehicles are defined as vehicles that have a payload of more than one tonne, or 2,240lbs (not including seats), and have a dedicated load area larger than the passenger area. We primarily use vans and trucks for commercial purposes, and they cover millions of miles to keep products flowing all over the world.
For some organisations, the use of commercial vehicles ground to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic. For others, their use ramped up dramatically as physical stores closed their doors and many consumers became reliant on delivery services. Let’s dive into some of the recent statistics around commercial vehicles.
Commercial vehicle production
Production of commercial vehicles has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a clear reflection of the way their use has changed at a time of business unease.
Worldwide commercial vehicle production dipped under 22 million units in 2020 – three million less than in 2019. However, this has begun to bounce back, with 23.24 million heavy buses, light commercial vehicles, and trucks being produced worldwide in 2021. (Source: Statista)
North America was the leading region in commercial vehicle production in 2020, with 10.1 million vehicles produced.
Asia and Oceania were the leading producer of heavy trucks for 2020, with around 3.7 million produced. (Source: Statista)
Over 72,913 commercial vehicles were built in the UK in 2021. (Source: SMMT)
Commercial vehicles in use
While the use of commercial vehicles dipped in 2020, they have – perhaps unsurprisingly – risen again since. Let’s look at the numbers behind the vans and trucks in action on our roads.
The UK recorded 334,000 commercial vehicles on the road in 2020 – down from 426,000 in 2019. (Source: SMMT)
In 2021, the UK recorded around 396,910 commercial vehicles. (Source: Statista)
Between 2019 and 2020, the total road freight transport recorded a fall of more than 3.8% in the tonnes carried.
In 2020, road freight transport accounted for 77.4 % of the total inland freight transport. (Source: Europa)
As of January 2021, over 28 million vans were in circulation throughout the EU. France had the biggest fleet with six million vehicles.
As of January 2021, there were also 6.2 million medium and heavy commercial vehicles on the EU’s roads. With 1.2 million trucks, Poland had the largest fleet.
Diesel-powered light commercial vehicles are in the majority in all EU countries, except for Greece, with 90% of the EU fleet running on diesel. (Source: ACEA)
Alternative power in commercial vehicles
Diesel may be the fuel of choice for commercial vehicles, but many manufacturers and distributors are slowly integrating electric vehicles into their fleets.
As of the end of May 2022, there were more than 24,000 electric vans in the UK.
2021 saw the largest annual increase in electric van registrations – almost 13,000. That's 240% growth compared to 2020. (Source: Zap Map)
Only 0.3% of vans in the EU are battery-powered, and 0.04% of trucks on EU roads are zero-emissions. (Source: ACEA)
There are 15 public hydrogen fuel stations in the UK.
Perivale is the largest hydrogen fuel station in the UK; it launched in 2021 and has a daily capacity of 1,500 kilograms of H2. (Source: Statista)
Find more alternative fuel stats in our recent article.
Commercial vehicle emissions
With so many commercial vehicles constantly on the move – and bearing in mind most of them are diesel-powered – they, of course, impact carbon dioxide emissions across the world.
Light commercial vehicles are responsible for around 2.5% of total EU CO2 emissions. (Source: Europa.eu)
Heavy duty trucks and vehicles are responsible for around 5.6% of total EU CO2 emissions. (Source: ACEA)
According to Commercial Fleet’s carbon footprint calculator, the average truck’s carbon footprint is around 223 tons of CO2. (Source: Freight Waves)
Vans registered in the EU, Iceland, Norway, and the UK emitted on average 158.4 g CO2 per kilometre in 2019, which is 0.5 g per kilometre more than in 2018. (Source: GOV.UK)
Commercial vehicle mileage
Commercial vehicles are endlessly on the move; let’s examine just how many miles they cover every year.
As of 2020, the annual mileage per van in the UK has remained stable at around 13,000 miles per year. (Source: GOV.UK)
During 2020, HGVs travelled 16.4 billion miles, which is 5.7% less than in 2019.
During 2020, HGVs travelled 4,942 million empty kilometres, which is a 14% decrease compared to 2019. Empty distance is when zero tons of freight are being transported. (Source: GOV.UK)
Last-mile deliveries
Last-mile delivery is the final step of the delivery process when a product reaches its destination – i.e. a personal residence or retail establishment. Here are some stats on the last-mile delivery market.
The global last-mile delivery market is projected to grow to around £44 billion by 2025, up from £29 billion in 2020.
Amazon aims to have a full complement of 100,000 last-mile delivery electric vehicles on the road by 2030.
Source: SMMT
Commercial vehicle driver shortages
During the last few years, the news has been plagued by stories about commercial driver shortages. Coronavirus caused many drivers to fall ill and/or take time off to isolate, and Brexit has also affected driver numbers in the UK. Unfortunately, shortages continue across the world and higher wages in 2021 – especially in Europe and the US – have not helped.
In Europe, truck driver shortages increased by 42% from 2020 to 2021.
Open, unfilled truck driver positions reached 71,000 in Romania, 80,000 in Poland and Germany, and 100,000 in the UK in 2021.
In Mexico, truck driver shortages increased by 30% in 2021 compared to 2020.
In China, truck driver shortages rose by 140% in 2021, reaching 1.8 million.
Source: IRU
These statistics show that, as with much of the automotive industry, the commercial vehicle sector is gradually recovering as the world opens back up and returns to some sense of normalcy.
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