Commercial Vehicle and Lorry Statistics for the UK

According to the latest DfT Vehicle Licensing Statistics (2023/Q4):

Total Commercial Vehicles (Goods + Buses)

4.62 million licensed commercial vehicles in Great Britain (UK ~4.7M incl. NI).

Category	Definition	Count (GB)	Notes
Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs)	> 3.5 tonnes GVW	505,000	Articulated (185k), Rigid (320k). "Lorries" in common parlance.
Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs)	≤ 3.5 tonnes GVW	4.12 million	Vans (panel, pickup, 4x4), light trucks. Dominated by Ford Transit, VW Transporter.
Buses & Coaches	> 8 passengers	85,000	Public service (PSV) + private.

LGVs: +60% since 2010 (e-commerce, gig economy, "white van" culture).
HGVs: Stable ~500k; driver shortage (~60k), aging fleet, ZEV mandate (2035/2040).
Fuel: Diesel 96% (HGVs), 90% (LGVs); BEV/PHEV growing fast in vans.

"Lorry" = HGV (>3.5t) in UK English. "Van" = LGV (≤3.5t). The 4.5M figure in older sources conflated total commercial vehicles with HGVs.

United Kingdom