Van confidence high despite slip

Some 85 per cent of van operators expect their business to grow over the next 12 months, according to the Mercedes-Benz Vans Business Barometer.

The barometer includes responses from 2,000 van drivers, owners, operators and fleet managers.

The February 2018 survey found that business confidence was still high despite a five per cent dip on April last year, when the first survey took place.

Greater London leads the rest of the country in terms of growth confidence – 89 per cent of respondents from Greater London are confident their business will experience growth over the next 12 months compared to just 79 per cent in Wales, 81 per cent in the East of England and 82 per cent in Yorkshire and the West Midlands.

Steve Bridge, managing director of Mercedes-Benz Vans UK, said: “It is concerning that while confidence is high among van owners and operators, the trend is on a decline, and while uncertainty continues to circulate around ‘Brexit’ and the economy, the knock-on effect on the investment within businesses is potentially stagnant. We continue to monitor the views of the van community, but our hope is that ‘normal service’ is resumed soon, as van owners and operators are a life blood to the United Kingdom, keeping our businesses, and indeed lives, moving.”