VAN sales in March surged to their highest level ever at 48,834 – 24.3% up on last year.

As the first quarter of the year ends, sales of commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes show a 13.7% rise, despite fears of recession because if the war in Iraq.

Full sales figures
LCV 1.8-3.5 tonnes					Under 1.8
	March	March	YTD	YTD	March	March	YTD	YTD
	2003	2002	2003	2002	2003	2002	2003	2002
Citroen	2,278	1,900	4,139	4,289	1,379	991	2,787	2,099
Daihatsu	121	158	206	298	0	0	0	0
Fiat	49	63	80	113	1,483	1,066	2,524	2,071
Ford	1,723	2,051	3,052	5,631	10,534	7,549	18,202	14,140
Isuzu	0	0	0	0	80	0	150	0
LDV	0	0	0	0	1,141	1,462	1,965	2,840
Mazda	0	0	0	0	163	264	296	446
Mercedes-Benz	0	0	0	0	2,377	2,295	4,756	4,787
Mitsubishi	0	0	0	0	2,136	1,276	3,356	2,058
Nissan	0	0	0	0	1,067	611	1,770	1,089
Peugeot	1,212	909	2,026	1,890	1,462	902	2,663	1,743
Renault	841	976	1,875	2,260	1,198	1,004	2,345	2,008
Seat	97	118	159	173	0	0	0	0
Suzuki	662	424	876	702	0	0	0	0
Toyota	0	0	0	0	1,156	1,092	2,065	2,011
Vauxhall	4,577	3,090	9,626	5,562	1,853	1,071	3,245	1,891
Volkswagen	338	433	720	769	1,994	1,662	3,397	3,296