FLEET van disposal experts should not assume that just because a new model is launched, the outgoing one will drop in value.

According to CAP Red Book, a new model can sometimes have a galvanising effect on the old, as has been the case with the Ford Transit Connect and the outgoing Escort van, which has seen the old model's second-hand values firm up.

David Hill, Red Book senior editor, said: 'The Escort van has often been through periods of falling values. The introduction of the Transit Connect worried some in the trade that Escort van values would be further weakened in the shadow of a slightly larger, better engineered alternative.

'But the Connect actually led to the stabilisation of Escort van values. Following a period of steady falls, prices rallied for a time, effectively giving it a new lease of life.'

Hill said a combination of enhanced specification on the Escort and the high price of the Connect were factors.

BCA noted a resurgence in the LCV market throughout September and it is even stronger than it was in March 2003, when it reported the best first quarter on record. Duncan Ward, BCA's UK business development manager – commercial vehicles, said: 'Conversion rates and guide performance figures have improved in September – and that's considering that the summer months were very strong indeed.'