Wholesale van values stabilise in August

9th October 2011

Average wholesale used van values stabilised in August, with Manheim Remarketing recording an increase of just 0.5% (£19) to £3,869.

Compared to August 2010, average values are 3.2% (£130) lower, average age is three months higher at 55 months and average mileage is up by 4,238 miles to 75,871 miles.

Four of the five volume sectors showed very small decreases in average value of up to 0.6%, but large panel vans up to 3.0 tonnes experienced an increase of 7.6% (£301) to £4,239, with an average age that was two month lower but with an increase in average mileage of just over 1,000 miles.

Other notable examples of increases in average values include car-derived vans, which rose by 3.1% (£83) to £2,754 and buses up by 14.6% (£723) to £5,689.  Meanwhile, average value of tippers fell by 15.7% (£878) to £4,719.

“There are a couple of key factors affecting the wholesale van market at the moment, said James Davis, Manheim Remarketing’s general manager for commercial vehicles.  “We are now seeing the true stock profile without the influence of the late registered product from high profile business failures that were a factor earlier in the year.

“Year-on-year sold volumes are up 14% demonstrating the underlying strength of the used van market.  A recent survey published by Manheim showed 65% of buyers thought they would not have any issue sourcing stock for the remainder of the year.  However, with the forthcoming changes to the LEZ fuelling an artificial demand spike until the end of the year, the predicted wholesale van shortage is likely to drive used values higher.”