This is new, personally.
No, we use both. Truck is in very common everyday use meaning a large goods vehicle and is completely interchangeable with lorry. We use spanner and wrench - the smaller types used for undoing nuts are usually called spanners and the bigger ones for undoing pipes and the like usually wrenches. Ditto elevator - perfectly swappable with lift in everyday conversation.
With the greatest respect to Americans, I think Brits are more aware of the spelling and meaning nuances of foreign subversions of the English language like American English than Americans are aware of English, or as Americans tautologically call it, British English. English is a wonderful language which is constantly changing and developing and all versions are vaild, but of course English is the original and American English a regional subversion.