Commercial van sales in the US take a big hit in the first quarter of 2022 with deliveries down by more than a third, over double the overall market decline. As a result, the share of commercial vans of the overall US car market is down to 2.1%, from 2.6% in 2021. The pain is shared equally between subsegments: small vans are down 33% while full-sized vans are down 34%.
Traditional class leader Ford Transit sees a 37% drop in deliveries, as its share of the class is down by 1.5 percentage points to 30.6%. The only full-sized van to improve on last year is the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, up 8% thanks to the new generation. The Sprinter jumps 3 places to the #2 spot and grows its share to 19%. That knocks down the RAM ProMaster (-14%) down to third place as it is due for a major facelift. Sales of the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana are down by almost half, while the other classic model Ford E-Series is down 32%. Production of the Nissan NV ended last year.
In the compact commercial van part of the segment, which accounts for 17.8% of total van sales in the US (up from 17.4% in 2021), the Ford Transit Connect is pretty much stable at -3%, growing its share of the subsegment to 60.2%, up from 42.1% last year. The Mercedes-Benz Metris has taken a long time for American businesses to warm up to it, but so far in 2022 it’s up 74% into second place, leapfrogging the RAM ProMaster City which sees its deliveries drop by nearly half. Sales of the Nissan NV200 have all but stopped as Nissan is pulling out of the van segment entirely.
US commercial van sales 2022-Q1
| Van segment | 2022-Q1 | 2021-Q1 | Change | 2022 Share | 2021 Share | |
| 1 | Ford Transit | 17.211 | 27.451 | -37% | 30,6% | 32,1% |
| 2 | Mercedes-Benz Sprinter | 10.677 | 9.927 | 8% | 19,0% | 11,6% |
| 3 | Ram ProMaster | 9.328 | 10.880 | -14% | 16,6% | 12,7% |
| 4 | Chevrolet Express | 8.860 | 16.877 | -48% | 15,7% | 19,7% |
| 5 | Ford E-series | 7.201 | 10.573 | -32% | 12,8% | 12,3% |
| 6 | GMC Savana | 2.985 | 5.847 | -49% | 5,3% | 6,8% |
| 7 | Nissan NV van | 2 | 4.074 | -100% | 0,0% | 4,8% |
| 8 | Ford Transit Connect | 7.357 | 7.623 | -3% | 60,2% | 42,1% |
| 9 | Mercedes-Benz Metris | 3.011 | 1.732 | 74% | 24,7% | 9,6% |
| 10 | Ram ProMaster City | 1.709 | 3.204 | -47% | 14,0% | 17,7% |
| 11 | Nissan NV200 | 134 | 5.539 | -98% | 1,1% | 30,6% |
| Segment total | 68.475 | 103.727 | -34% |
Source: Manufacturers.