Not just the UK, but all of Europe as well, and the truck tax was eventually applied worldwide - it’s the reason Volkswagen Type 2 pickups and windowless delivery vans disappeared from the US, and Japanese pickups ended up being built here. Even stupider was that one of the intended beneficiaries of the tax (Ford) had to go to ridiculous lengths to import the Transit Connect; they were built with full passenger interiors, shipped to the USA, and then stripped and fitted with windowless side panels, with the passenger equipment shredded for recycling. When they were called out on these shenanigans, they simply stopped importing it.
The various incarnations of the Sprinter van get built in Germany, then completely disassembled, shipped here, and then reassembled. Apparently, CKD kits are a valid workaround.
