Van values dip during holiday season

Manheim Remarketing’s latest monthly analysis for vans reveals that at £4,039, average wholesale used van prices dipped in July by 6.1% (£262) compared with June.

This trend continues to reflect the seasonal softening of the market which has now fallen by nearly 9% since its peak in April 2010, following 10 consecutive months of rising prices.

Nevertheless, used van values are still 31% ahead of average prices this time last year, despite the average age having gone up by two months to 53 months.

Decreased average values in July vs June are evident in most key sectors such as small panel vans down by 8.3% (£355 to £4,241), large panel vans over three tonnes down 7.5% (£283 to £3,731), large panel vans smaller than three tonnes down 3.2% (£141 to £4,320), car-derived vans down 2.9% (£79 to £2,693) and buses down 9.6% (£631 to £5,901).

James Davis, general manager, commercial vehicles, Manheim Remarketing said: "Although demand has certainly weakened during the summer holiday period, there is still an underlying strength in the market and the auction halls continue to be pretty busy.

"However, buyer attendances are certainly dependent on the nature of the stock being offered, with fresh entries seeing a healthy following, but duplicated stock or poor condition vehicles are now proving to be a challenge.

"Meanwhile, online buying activity continues to grow, as dealers selectively re-stock or fulfil orders in modest numbers from the comfort of their premises, without the need to travel.”