THE used commercial vehicle market is performing strongly – and the trend could continue well into the autumn.

Writing in the June issue of Commercial Vehicle Values, Glass’s Guide chief commercial vehicle editor George Alexander said: ‘Speaking to a wide cross-section of the industry, from boardroom to Portakabin, it is clear that there are few grumbles to be heard in connection with used van sales, with the exception of stock shortages.

‘Against all this positive feedback it can be concluded that a healthy marketplace will stay in place until at least the autumn and, barring pitfalls for the wider economy, even longer.’

Alexander highlighted two sectors performing strongly – lightweight vans and off-roaders.

Peugeot’s 206 van, especially in 1.4 HDi guise, is continuing to be a star performer, as is any Partner van with a side-loading door. The larger Expert models, especially in HDi diesel form and with a passenger bench seat and metallic paint, are commanding higher prices than were seen over the past year.

And Peugeot’s performance is being echoed by Renault, Ford, Nissan, Citroen, Fiat, Vauxhall and Volkswagen.

Elsewhere, well-presented, late-year examples of models such as the Mitsubishi L200 are hitting Guide prices fairly easily.

However, these models are generally in high-spec, such as the L200 Warrior and Animal, as well as Nissan’s Navara and Isuzu’s Denver. These attract the most interest, especially when offered with leather seats and a load canopy.