New analysis from Warranty Solutions Group (WSG) highlights the mounting financial pressure van operators face as vehicles stay in service for longer. Reviewing more than 1,000 light commercial vehicle warranty claims paid between January and December last year, the data pinpoints where costs – and downtime – are hitting hardest.
The most expensive and disruptive faults were linked to engines, emissions systems and electrical components, with several repairs pushing up against – or beyond – warranty limits. The single highest-value claim exceeded £6,086 on a Mercedes Sprinter, while other costly cases involved Ford, Nissan, Volkswagen and Peugeot vans.
Vehicles aged four to nine years appeared most frequently, underlining the risk once manufacturer cover expires. High-value failures were commonly associated with turbochargers, DPFs and ECUs, while more routine faults such as diesel injectors (£622), alternators (£543) and batteries made up a significant share of claims.
WSG’s Mark Bobbins said downtime is now the biggest challenge for fleets, adding that growing vehicle complexity is driving more software and sensor-related failures that require specialist skills to fix quickly.