🇬🇧 United Kingdom imports of special purpose vehicles: 2024 trade data
In 2024, the United Kingdom imported special purpose vehicles worth $494.4 million (32.7 thousand tonnes). That makes it the 8th largest importer of this product worldwide, out of 217 countries. The value was almost unchanged from 2023. Across 2017-2024 the long-run trend was broadly stable.
Public statistics, latest reported year 2024. Values in US dollars.
Imports of special purpose vehicles by year, 2017-2024
Hover or tap a year for detail.
Year by year
| Year | Value | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $494.4M | 32.7K t |
| 2023 | $493.4M | 33.1K t |
| 2022 | $455.2M | 31.0K t |
| 2021 | $404.5M | 23.2K t |
| 2020 | $304.3M | 19.6K t |
| 2019 | $385.4M | 24.8K t |
| 2018 | $355.0M | 22.7K t |
| 2017 | $327.9M | 24.3K t |
Where the United Kingdom imports special purpose vehicles from
Germany alone supplied 62% of it. Among the main suppliers, Netherlands grew fastest (+34% on the year before).
| Supplier country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 🇩🇪 Germany | $305.3M | 62% |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | $42.7M | 8.6% |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | $41.6M | 8.4% |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | $34.5M | 7% |
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | $12.0M | 2.4% |
| 🇱🇻 Latvia | $8.8M | 1.8% |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | $6.5M | 1.3% |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | $6.3M | 1.3% |
| 🇫🇷 France | $5.7M | 1.2% |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | $5.7M | 1.2% |
Types of special purpose vehicles under HS 8705
| 8705.10 | Vehicles: crane lorries | 52% |
| 8705.90 | Vehicles: break-down lorries, road-sweepers, spraying lorries, mobile workshops, mobile radiological units, and other special purpose vehicles n.e.c.… | 43% |
| 8705.30 | Vehicles: fire fighting vehicles | 2.2% |
| 8705.40 | Vehicles: concrete-mixer lorries | 2.2% |
| 8705.20 | Vehicles: mobile drilling derricks | 0.6% |
Codes and full descriptions: HS heading 8705.
Average import price of special purpose vehicles
The average declared value was about $15.11 per kg, 114% above the world average of $7.07. This usually points to higher-grade or processed goods.
Declared value divided by weight, all 2024 shipments. Prices per shipment and per company are in EximDataX.
The United Kingdom also exports special purpose vehicles
In 2024, the United Kingdom exported special purpose vehicles worth $227.8 million (31.2 thousand tonnes). That makes it the 9th largest exporter of this product worldwide, out of 158 countries. The largest buyer markets were Ireland (17%), Netherlands (14%), Germany (8%). Trade is spread widely: the top three buyer markets together make up only 39%. Among the main buyer markets, Ukraine grew fastest (+593% on the year before).
| Destination | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | $38.8M | 17% |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | $30.8M | 14% |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | $18.2M | 8% |
| 🇺🇦 Ukraine | $11.3M | 4.9% |
| 🇫🇷 France | $11.1M | 4.9% |
| 🇨🇳 China | $9.7M | 4.3% |
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | $7.9M | 3.5% |
| 🇪🇬 Egypt | $6.3M | 2.8% |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | $5.8M | 2.6% |
| 🇬🇾 Guyana | $5.7M | 2.5% |
Who is behind these numbers in the United Kingdom?
Public statistics stop at country totals and the last published year. EximDataX shows the shipment records underneath: the companies, dates, quantities and declared values, updated weekly.
Shipment records are in the platform
Tell us what you trade and we will show you the latest records on a live call.
Direct customs feed: shipment-level records from the official customs source.
Updated weekly on EximDataX (some markets daily), while public statistics stop at 2024.
Source: CEPII BACI (reconciled UN Comtrade data), HS 2017 edition, release 202601, Etalab Open Licence 2.0. Annual values in US dollars at the customs border; quantities in tonnes where reported. HS 8705: Special purpose motor vehicles; not those for the transport of persons or goods (e.g. breakdown lorries, road sweeper lorries, spraying lorries, mobile workshops, mobile radiological units etc).
Special purpose vehicles trade in the United Kingdom: questions
What is the value of special purpose vehicles imported by the United Kingdom?
The United Kingdom imported special purpose vehicles worth $494.4 million in 2024 (32.7 thousand tonnes).
Where does the United Kingdom import special purpose vehicles from?
The main supplier countries in 2024 were Germany (62%), Italy (9%), Ireland (8%).
What is the average import price of special purpose vehicles in the United Kingdom?
The average declared import value was about $15.11 per kg in 2024, against a world average of $7.07 per kg.
Does the United Kingdom export special purpose vehicles?
Yes. The United Kingdom exported special purpose vehicles worth $227.8 million in 2024, mainly to Ireland, Netherlands, Germany.
What is the HS code for special purpose vehicles?
Special purpose vehicles falls under HS heading 8705 (Special purpose motor vehicles; not those for the transport of persons or goods (e.g. breakdown lorries, road sweeper lo). The six-digit codes under it split the product by type.
How can I find the companies trading special purpose vehicles with the United Kingdom?
These public statistics stop at country level. EximDataX has a direct customs feed for the United Kingdom with shipment-level records, updated weekly, where you can see the importers and exporters by name.
Special purpose vehicles trade in other countries
More trade data for the United Kingdom
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