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Vans: Electric Vehicles

Asked by Rebecca SmithConservativeDepartment for TransportTabled Answered 3 July 2026UIN 14110

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of light commercial vans that, under normal operating conditions, would require (a) no en route charging, (b) one charging stop, (c) two charging stops and (d) three or more charging stops during a typical working day.

Answered by Keir Mather

The Department does not hold data on how many charging stops a particular number or proportion of light commercial vans (LCV) would require during a typical working day.

The charging requirements of a van depend on a wide range of factors, including vehicle model and battery size, payload, route characteristics, driving style, weather conditions, auxiliary power use and daily mileage. This is not data the Department maintains.

The Department does publish statistics on van usage in Great Britain. The last Van Ownership and Usage Survey, 2019-2020, found that around half of all vans stayed within 15 miles of their base on a typical day, although usage patterns vary significantly across vehicle operators and sectors. The full van statistics: 2019 to 2020 report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/van-statistics-2019-to-2020

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