Where Have all the Compact Vans Gone?

It was widely predicted, just a few short years ago, that the increasing marketplace demand for courier work services would drive a massive increase in sales for all types of vans – including the small compact variety.

Yet the latest figures from surveys show that this ‘compact van boom’ just isn’t happening, even though van sales overall are very buoyant. What’s happening?

The Small Compact Van

Some pundits will tell you that the very small van arrived in the early years of this century and quote models like the Berlingo to prove their point.

That, of course, is nonsense. Small, very compact vans have been around for at least a century. You can check online for an example like the Vauxhall Viva van from the 1970s if you doubt that.

However, in the noughties, people predicted a huge explosion in smaller van ownership as a result of the embryonic online selling boom. However, that just hasn’t happened even as the demand for courier workers has skyrocketed thanks to the likes of eBay and Amazon etc. Surprisingly to some, buyers have continued to stick with the conventional and much-loved ‘Transit type’ vans so popular with their parents and even grandparents.

The latest survey figures bear that out.

In 2015, not a single small compact van appeared in the list of the ‘Top 20 Selling Vans’ published by the trade. Although the growth in larger van sales hit an impressive percentage near 16%, the growth in small vans was a modest 8%. In fact, the sales of small compact vans declined by no less than 12%.

That isn’t a promising omen for the future.

Flexibility is Key

It’s far from clear just what the key factors are that have resulted in those noughties’ predictions being so far off the mark.

Certainly there is some indication that the small compacts might just be too small for many of those engaged in courier work. While it’s right to talk about their low fuel consumption and running costs - plus their arguably far greater suitability for inner-city areas - the fact is that they just can’t carry as many parcels as a conventional van.

As couriers need to manage their costs carefully, the idea of needing to constantly run back to base to collect parcels, just because you couldn’t get them all in the first time round, simply isn’t appealing. Telling potential customers you can’t do the job because you’re “full up” is even less so.

Then there are all those odd-sized items that you could get into a full-sized van easily but which just won’t go into that compact model, however inventive and dextrous you try to be. Heavier loads can also be an issue in the same respect.

The bottom line seems to be that many couriers are simply hedging their bets and opting for a larger vehicle to give them a greater degree of flexibility to expand their business. That’s even at the expense of higher initial capital outlays and ongoing running costs.

Requiem for the Compact Van

Some of those who predicted an explosion of demand in this domain are now busily predicting the end of the small compact van.

Intuitively, that seems equally likely to be proven wrong too.

There is some evidence that the small van continues to be popular with tradespeople – i.e. plumbers, electricians and the like. If you think about how many times you’ve seen a full-sized electricians or plumbers van largely empty apart from a toolbox or two, you’ll understand why!

The small compact van is probably here to stay, even if its popularity for courier work continues to prove minimal.