‘Don’t panic about the used van market’ was the message from John Watts, operational development manager at CAP.

“Next year will be tough,” he said, “but things are not quite as bad as they might first appear.”

He said that the car market is in a worse state, with a 40-45% reduction in values in some sectors.

The van market has seen used values, in general, around 16% less than in 2005.

Mr Watts also suggested ways to take advantage of the situation, such as contract extension, and reviewing policies relating to damage.

“Only vehicles in the best condition will sell,” he said.

“More and more vehicles are not selling on first appearance.”

As for the future of the market, Mr Watts predicted average forecast values for panel vans in 2011 would be around 10% higher than today.

“This is partly because there is a range of new models, yet to hit the market, especially at 3.5 tonnes.”

He discussed hybrid and electric vehicles entering the market and warned operators that batteries for some electric vehicles may be specified for first life only.