Burnley company's sales orders for new vans up by record 75% so far this year

The company has seen an unprecedented sales order growth of 75% in the year-to-date, bucking light commercial vehicle industry trends. March alone saw CoolKit take orders for 50 converted vans at a time when official figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that, overall, UK van registrations fell by -27.6% in Q1*.

Commenting on the record growth, CoolKit’s chief executive, Rupert Gatty, said that the result is attributable to several factors.

“Our markets are seeing a huge resurgence in activity post-Covid, especially within the foodservice industry, which was effectively closed by the pandemic,” he said.

“Ongoing environmental concerns and the increase in the home delivery of goods have also contributed to the rapid and sustained growth for LCVs.”

"Customers buying from us also benefit from working with a firm with more environmental and quality credentials than any competitor. This includes a commitment to ISO14001:2015 for a tenth successive year, and a credible plan for carbon footprint reduction in place.”

To meet the increase in market demand from its core customer bases, CoolKit has committed to stocking more than 500 new vans.

Gatty predicts that sales of the stock will generate sales in excess of £15m. for CoolKit in 2022.

He added: “Such is the shortage of new stock in the industry, CoolKit has found that it is often receiving enquiries from intermediaries in the supply chain for the first time, from rental and contract hire companies, for example, and brokerages too. All of these businesses are increasingly trying to secure more van stock, which is being hampered the longer the supply chain is constrained.

“There is no sign of constrained supply ending anytime soon. In fact, in some respects, things are getting worse with world events restricting the supply of wiring looms, compounding the problems of shortages of semiconductors and many other components.

"And, the price of raw materials – especially metals – and logistics, are going up too. So, the message to temperature-controlled fleet operators is that they must place orders now if they are looking forward to securing new vans in the next 12 months.”