Sales in the Large Commercial Vans segment rose by 15.4 percent in 2016 to 377,971 vehicles, the highest level they have been in the past decade. While 2017 is unlikely to bring any big changes to the segment lineup, sales are likely to continue rising at the clear expense of the Small Commercial Vans segment, as long as gas prices don’t rise too quickly.
Highlights for 2016:
Nissan NV- Sales of the Ford Transit rose by 22 percent in 2016, further cementing its crown as the king of the new era of cargo vans in the US, as it now outsells the second-placed Chevrolet Express by 2-to-1
- Right behind the Express was the Ford E-series, another van from the previous-generation, suggesting these old designs are not likely to go away anytime soon thanks to their low price, wide variety of configurations and familiarity to those who maintain them
- Sales of the Ram ProMaster grew by 40 percent, allowing it to claim fourth-spot from the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
- GMC Savana rebounded in the last quarter, with sales growing by 59 percent compared to Q4’15, allowing it to stay ahead of the slowly-advancing Nissan NV
- Sales of the new-for-2016 mid-sized Mercedes-Benz Metris quickly plateaued at just below 2,000 units per quarter, making the model far from the success Mercedes-Benz was hoping for, and questioning whether the company truly needs two commercial vans in the American market