Sales in the two largest of Australia’s three van segments dipped in 2025, dragging the segment down overall.
Australia’s biggest light commercial van segment took a tumble in 2025, with sales down 12 per cent compared to 2024.
Australia's vehicle categorisation, as defined by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), provides three sales categories for vans to fall into, across the light commercial vehicle (LCV) and heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) segments.
The biggest LCV van category, for vans rated with a carrying capacity from 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes, saw the biggest decline of the three.
The HiAce recorded 11,073 sales, accounting for 49.7 per cent of sales in the segment, but slipped by 8.4 per cent compared to 2024.
Hyundai Staria Load sales dropped 16.7 per cent, with 2917 sales.
LDV ran out the low-priced V80 van during 2025, replacing it with the more expensive Deliver 7 in late 2024. The G10 accrued 1628 sales, the Deliver 7 contributed 1159, and the V80 notched 40 for the year.
The three models combined saw LDV’s sales slip to a total of 2827, down 17.3 per cent.
The segment’s second-placed Ford Transit Custom held relatively steady. The introduction of new EV and PHEV variants during 2025 resulted in a 0.6 per cent increase to 3447 units in 2025.
In the HCV segment, the Light Duty (3.5-8.0 tonne capacity) class that covers vans, cab-chassis, and light trucks also dipped.
A 6.3 per cent decline saw 24,296 vehicles sold in 2025, down from 25,918 the year prior.
Isuzu’s N-Series light trucks lead the segment, and managed to build sales 2.0 per cent with 6941 deliveries.
The second-placed Mercedes-Benz Sprinter dropped 5.0 per cent with 3685 sales, and the LDV Deliver 9 tumbled 18.6 per cent, counting 2421 sales for the year.
The smallest end of the LCV van class saw vans with a capacity of up to 2.5 tonnes actually grow in 2025. As the lowest-volume segment, the light van category couldn’t make up for the ground lost by its big van counterparts.
A 9.9 per cent growth in the segment was helped by the Volkswagen Caddy growing sales by 18.6 per cent, with 885 units delivered, and the Renault Kangoo also building volume by 33.0 per cent, with 254 sales.
In between the two, the second-placed Peugeot Partner stumbled, down 12.4 per cent, with 432 sales in 2025.
Although not traditionally combined due to their split between heavy and light commercial vehicle definitions, the overall picture for Australia’s three van categories slid by 8.6 per cent in 2025 compared to 2024’s result.
The three segments, with a heavy skew towards business buyers rather than private use, can be seen as a barometer for business spending in Australia, although other influences like vehicle availability and new model cycles can also impact the results.
Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
