The influx of used light commercial stock currently inundating auction sites could be one of the biggest opportunities to present itself to retailers in a decade or more, according to EurotaxGlass’s, publisher of Glass’s Guide to Commercial Vehicle Values.

Large volumes of commercial vehicles are currently being de-fleeted by rental and leasing firms – an inevitable consequence of the many three- and four-year contracts that were signed during a time of soaring registrations.

 

This has produced a surge of late-year vans arriving on the used market.

George Alexander, chief commercial vehicle editor at EurotaxGlass’s, said: “With 2007 being a record-breaking year for new vehicle registrations, fleets have plenty of additional used vans to dispose of.

"Following 30 months of reporting late-year light commercial stock shortages, we now find that there is ample supply.

“This could prove to be a major opportunity for retailers to acquire stock at
attractive prices.

“Despite not all stock being in perfect condition, vendors, dealers and customers can hopefully find sufficient common ground to achieve another good year for used van sales in 2008."

Meanwhile experts at CAP are seeing a downward trend in the values of sub
3.5-tonne gross vehicle weight panel vans as the supply of new vehicles increases.

Particularly badly hit are the models from Sevel in Italy, the Citroën Dispatch,
Peugeot Expert and Fiat Scudo, along with Citroën Relay, Peugeot Boxer and Fiat Ducato.

Other models are also seeing falls, especially vehicles with high mileages.
In the compact van sector, although values are easing back slightly, CAP sees a healthy demand, although Ford Transit Connect is suffering, especially when the vehicles for sale don’t have a side loading
door.