Like most businesses and industries, the commercial vehicle sector has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commercial vehicle hours on the road

You could be forgiven for thinking that commercial vehicles and their travel might not have been too badly affected by lockdown restrictions, after all, delivery drivers kept on delivering, but new data from Verizon Connect tells a different story.

From mid-February and into April the number of hours spent on the roads by commercial vehicle drivers went down by more than 50%, so the figures suggest.

The data, provided anonymously, showed that commercial drivers in France were hardest hit during lockdown with their recorded hours falling by 58%. In the UK that figure was down by 55% and in Spain down by 54%.

However, it seems that commercial vehicles in Germany did not suffer as much, with their hours on the road down by just 11%.

Thankfully, the bounce-back began as soon as lockdown measures began to ease. In France there was a 200% increase in commercial traffic between April 7 and May 5. While in the UK the same period saw only a small increase in commercial traffic hours by 22% over the same period.

Commercial vehicle production still suffering

Despite the uptick in hours spent on the road by van drivers and their vehicles, the UK commercial vehicle manufacturing industry is still feeling the considerable effects of the pandemic.

Latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) commercial vehicle production in the UK fell by 61.6% in May – that's just 810 new vehicles coming off the production lines. The year-to-date figures are similarly grim: commercial vehicle output was down by almost 30% over the first five months of 2020 when compared with 2019.

Van insurance and coronavirus

It goes without saying that, if you decided to SORN your commercial vehicle during lockdown in order to reduce your van insurance payments, and you are now out about in your van again, you will need to reinstate tax and commercial vehicle cover.

If you did not halt your van insurance cover, your insurance provider may be willing to make adjustments to your policy either by reducing your annual mileage and recalculating the price of your policy or by reimbursing you for reduced mileage during the lockdown.

Contact your insurance provider to ask if they are making any adjustments.

And for a new van insurance quote or any driver van insurance quote contact iVan today.