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Best Vehicles for Courier Services
With so many options out there, what’s the right courier vehicle for you? You may know all about the highly popular Prius and Ford Transit, but there are some other good alternatives to consider as well. Whether you wish to buy a new or used vehicle, here’s a summary of the top three cars and vans for couriers and private hire in the UK, as well as statistics showing how their popularity has changed in recent years.
Most Popular Cars for Couriers and Private Hire
It's clear that the dynamic of the UK vehicle market is changing, away from traditional petrol and diesel models into hybrid/electric vehicles. This is especially important in London, where certain hybrids and electrics can be exempt from congestion charges if they meet TFL's 75g CO2/km exemption threshold. These cars can also save you money on delivery driver insurance compared to many other models on the road.
According to popular top-up hire & reward insurance provider Zego, these are the most popular cars for courier drivers: Volkswagen Golf, Vauxhall Corsa, Vauxhall Astra, Toyota Yaris and Toyota Prius. But how popular is popular? The NimbleFins data experts dug through data from the Department for Transport to find out how many of each car are currently licensed. Here's what we found:
While there are more Vauxhalls and Volkswagens in the chart above, Toyota is rapidly taking market share from Volkswagen and Vauxhall with respect to these popular courier cars, as you can see in the table below.
| Most popular courier cars | Q3 2023 | % Change (2 years to Q3 2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Golf | 995,492 | -4.2% |
| Vauxhall Corsa | 993,301 | -3.9% |
| Vauxhall Astra | 676,590 | -13.5% |
| Toyota Yaris | 536,161 | 8.3% |
| Toyota Prius | 113,435 | 8.5% |
But what's it like to buy a used car for courier work? Here are some stats on these popular courier cars, to give you an idea of used car prices and stock levels in the UK:
| Stats on Popular Courier Cars UK | Number of vehicles available on AutoTrader (< 5 yrs old) | Median price of models < 5 years old |
|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Golf | 4,467 | £20,000 |
| Vauxhall Corsa | 3,683 | £13,000 |
| Vauxhall Astra | 1,233 | £13,000 |
| Toyota Yaris | 2,428 | £18,000 |
| Toyota Prius | 262 | £15,000 |
With such a wide variety of makes and models available to car couriers and delivery drivers in the UK, which cars work the best? While some firms, like JustEat, have no requirements for your vehicle before you start delivering (outside of it being reliable, of course!), companies like Uber and Bolt—or any company you’ll be carrying passengers with)— have some criteria for your vehicle to meet before you drive for them, such as:
- Model year in line with local licensing authority requirements
- 4-door car or minivan
- Good condition with no cosmetic damage
- No commercial branding
- All vehicles must be licensed to carry a minimum of 4 passengers
Most Popular Vans for Couriers
Before deciding which van will work best for you, it’s important to consider what type of courier work you’re likely to be undertaking, and to make sure you select a model/panel type that is most suitable. Most vans can be categorised as either small, medium or large panel, with the larger models more appropriate for those carrying heavy/higher volume loads.
| Most popular courier vans | Q3 2023 | % Change (2 years to 2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Ford Transit | 476,701 | -3.4% |
| Vauxhall Vivaro | 260,423 | 6.3% |
| Mercedes-Benz Sprinter | 240,081 | 1.5% |
| Citroen Berlingo | 163,863 | 2.2% |
| Renault Trafic | 144,101 | 9.1% |
| Volkswagen Caddy | 118,397 | -1.1% |
| Mercedes-Benz Vito | 85,658 | 2.0% |
What is buying one of these vehicles actually like—how much do they cost and how many are available to buy used? To find out, the NimbleFins team gathered data on used vehicles from AutoTrader, targeting vehicles 5 years old or younger. Use this data to get an idea of potential costs; and the number of vehicles for sale at a moment in time (May 2024) gives you an idea of the selection available and your level of choice.
| Courier vans | Number of models available on AutoTrader (< 5 yrs old) | Median price of models < 5 years old |
|---|---|---|
| Ford Transit | 477 | £19,000 |
| Vauxhall Vivaro | 84 | £16,000 |
| Mercedes-Benz Sprinter | 6 | £20,000 |
| Citroen Berlingo | 60 | £19,000 |
| Renault Trafic | 92 | £19,000 |
| Volkswagen Caddy | 26 | £25,000 |
| Mercedes-Benz Vito | 174 | £22,500 |
While the Berlingo has maintained it's spot as the most popular of our 3 recommendations (in part due to its versatility as both a people carrier and courier van, while the other two models tend to serve primarily as courier vehicles), it's difficult not to notice the impressive rise of the Ford Transit Connect over the past few years (over doubling the number on the road since 2014!)—a few reasons why this might be appear below.
Things to consider before buying
Where are you going to be driving?
Certain vehicles are much better suited to the stop-start nature of inner city driving, and some much better on longer, more consistent drives. Consider which category you’re more likely to fall into before deciding what vehicle to purchase
How much does it cost to run?
Make sure you’ve thought about the immediate and future costs of running your vehicle. Cars like the Prius are typically popular because of their low cost of maintenance/repair, but be cautious that if you have an issue with the battery it’s likely to set you back a considerable amount of money, especially compared to the value of the vehicle.
How comfortable is it?
Similarly to the first question, some vehicles will certainly fare better in narrow, congested inner city streets than others. Some local authorities in London are even trialing 6'6" vehicle width restrictions, so even some cars might struggle. Similarly, if you’re operating in the outer zones of a city, or in any less densely populated areas, consider if a vehicle more suited to comfortably dealing longer journeys might be appropriate.
How safe is it?
Safety is imperative anytime you’re behind a wheel, but especially when you’re carrying passengers or goods for somebody else. Make sure to check how your vehicle compares to others on the Euro NCAP website to make sure you feel safe that no harm will come to them in the event of an accident.