More commercial success for Vauxhall!

With sales of almost 50,000 vans, Vauxhall celebrated yet another year of commercial success in 2008 despite the backdrop of a steeply declining LCV market.

The figure represents Vauxhall’s best ever share of the light commercial vehicle market, accounting for 17.23 per cent of sales, as well as the company’s best-ever year in the Retail market where Vauxhall enjoyed a share of 14.11 per cent.

Vauxhall made history by becoming Britain’s number one van manufacturer in terms of sales volume twice in 2008, beating Ford for the first time ever in October and repeating its success again in December.

GM also remains Britain’s biggest van manufacturer, with over 90,000 commercial vehicles built in the UK at plants in Luton, Beds – home to the Vivaro – and Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, where the company constructs Astravan alongside five-door versions of the Astra hatchback.

Over the year, Vauxhall’s total sales of 49,863 light commercials represented year on year share growth of 1.55 per cent in a market down 14.4 per cent.

“These figures prove that demand for good quality vehicles, low running costs and excellent manufacturer support still exists even in a challenging market,” said Richard Collier, Vauxhall’s national CV sales manager. “The van market suffered quite badly in 2008, but for Vauxhall to buck the trend and show share growth proves that customers want and trust our products.”

Vauxhall’s best-selling van in 2008 was the Luton-built Vivaro, with 16,991 examples finding new buyers. The ever-popular Combo, Corsavan and Movano also saw their year-on-year sales increase despite the downward trend in the market.