Historically speaking, commercial customers in the UK and Europe have gravitated more toward vans than pickups, which is why Ford sells more of the former than the latter in those parts of the world. However, the Ford Ranger is still a popular entity among fleets in Europe and the UK, too – in fact, it’s been the best-selling commercial pickup in the latter country for some time now. That trend continued in the month of September as well, as the Ford Ranger continues to hold onto that position, as well as rank among the top selling light commercial vehicles in the UK overall.
According to new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT), the Ford Ranger recorded 2,980 sales in the UK last month, which was the third most of any LCV, as well as more than any other pickup in that country – marking a move back up the charts after finishing fifth in August. It places the Ranger behind only its lineup mates, the Ford Transit Custom and Ford Transit, which ranked first and second overall. The Ford Ranger is also third in terms of year-to-date sales in the first nine months of 2024, with 15,412 units thus far.
As for the overall LCV market in the UK, sales rose by 8.3 percent last month, producing the best September result in four years. However, EV sales dropped by 0.5 percent – marking the sixth month in 2024 they’ve declined – which doesn’t bode well for the country’s 2024 zero-emissions targets, nor more stricter rules set to take place in the coming years.
“Growing overall demand for new vans is encouraging as the sector, a barometer of the UK economy’s health, continues to recover post Covid,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive. “But while manufacturers have invested huge sums delivering zero emission technology and incentivizing its sale, consistently low demand is constraining industry from meeting Britain’s ambitious zero emission vehicles sales mandates. For van fleets to go green at pace they need the immediate encouragement – and long-term certainty – of fiscal incentives and van-specific charging infrastructure. Without these, UK decarbonization ambitions cannot be achieved at the world-leading speed demanded by regulation.”
Comment
Great, it’sa good seller. Now get us a $25K Ranger. We’re shopping for a pickup, and a Ranger XL built/options as cheap as possible is still scaring $40K to death. All we need is a reg/cab 2WD, 12 volt socket, w/ac/pwr door locks, am/FM/Sat radio, cloth seats, an automatic tranny and a shifter on the steering column to give better cab room room, and a fold down armrest. Nothing really fancy, something Henry Ford would approve of.