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Commercial Vehicles
Short-Term Solutions for you and your business
We love helping businesses with Commercial Vehicles, whether your a one person business or you operate multiple LCVs in your fleet, we can help with our short-term leases or long-term van rentals, but before we look into the nitty gritty, lets clear a few things up.
What is a commercial vehicle?
A commercial vehicle (CV) is a vehicle specifically engineered for transporting cargo, tools or equipment. While some industries may classify certain passenger cars as commercial vehicles, most CVs are purpose-built to carry out specific tasks.
Commercial vehicles can be privately owned, but they are most commonly used by businesses and fleets. Because they serve a very different purpose compared to passenger cars, CVs are designed with work in mind — built to be durable, cost-efficient to operate and repair, and focused on functionality rather than driver or passenger comfort.
What are the different types of commercial vehicles?
Commercial vehicles come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes — from compact cargo carriers that are smaller than a car to enormous mining machines that are far too large for public roads.
LCVs (Light Commercial Vehicles)
An LCV is any commercial vehicle with a gross vehicle weight under 3,500kg. This category typically includes:
Panel Vans
Panel vans are some of the most common commercial vehicles on UK roads and form the backbone of thousands of small businesses. They cover a broad spectrum — from compact car-derived vans like the Toyota Corolla Commercial, to small vans such as the Citroën Berlingo, mid-size models like the Ford Transit Custom, and large vans including the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.
A panel van features a fixed cab at the front with a dedicated cargo area at the rear, typically accessed through rear loading doors and one or more sliding side doors. This design maximises usable load space while keeping the vehicle practical and easy to manoeuvre.
Alongside pickup trucks, panel vans are the commercial vehicles most likely to cross over into everyday personal use. They’re especially popular with owner-operators thanks to their lower upfront cost, versatile load capacity and car-like driving characteristics.
Car-derived vans
As the name implies, car-derived vans are built from regular passenger vehicles. Some are based on estate cars, such as the Toyota Corolla Commercial, while many others start life as 4x4s (such as the Land Rover Defender Hardtop), giving them a rugged platform that performs well on rough or uneven terrain.
These vans typically have the rear seats removed, a flat loading floor fitted, and the back windows replaced with solid panels. Because they retain the look and driving comfort of the cars they’re based on, they often blend in on the road and are far more discreet than larger commercial vehicles.
However, while they’re easy to drive and great for light-duty use, car-derived vans usually offer a lower payload capacity compared to traditional panel vans.
Pickup Trucks
Pickup trucks consist of a cab at the front and an open load bed at the rear. They come in several cab styles: single cabs (two seats), extended cabs (four or five seats, typically with two doors) and double cabs (five seats with four doors). Generally, the smaller the cab, the larger the available load area — and vice versa.
Until recently, double-cab pickups were especially popular as personal or even family vehicles. Many models offered the comfort and features of an upmarket car while benefiting from the lower taxation applied to commercial vehicles. However, this tax advantage has now been removed, reducing their appeal for private ownership.
Crew Vans
A crew van is a hybrid between a panel van and a people carrier, typically built on a panel van platform but fitted with an additional second row of seats within the cargo area.
Great examples of these include the Volkswagen Transporter Kombi or the Ford Transit Custom Crew Van.
Luton Vans
These vehicles feature a large, separate cargo box mounted to the rear of the chassis. While they provide significantly increased loading space, they often offer a lower payload compared to standard vans. They’re especially popular with businesses that transport bulky items — such as furniture retailers and supermarket delivery fleets.
Try Our Van Finder Service
Time is money, so wasting time searching for the perfect van deal can prove very difficult, which is why we launched our van finder service. Let us do all the hard work.
We understand that not all businesses are the same and where applicable, we can customise our commercial vehicles around your needs, whether you need 5 vans for 1 month or 2 vans for 2 years, maybe you might need to take a vehicle over 3 years with a 1 year break. We will find a finance solution for you and your business.
Need a flexible solution? We can utilise our vehicle subscription fleet of commercial vehicles available from 1 month, reputable brands available including Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.
