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Supply and deman
Page 60
Page 61
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There's still good money to be made exporting second-hand vehicles from the UK, says European Vehicle Sales. Competitive pricing and the ability to meet demand are key.
Words: Steve Banner
Forget the credit crunch. Forget plummeting share values. Forget high diesel prices. Despite the general economic gloom and doom, there is still a healthy global demand for second-hand trucks sourced from Britain, says European Vehicle Sales (EVS) managing director Anthony Wright — and he should know.
Based on the Sandtoft Industrial Estate, not far from Doncaster, and a few minutes drive from Junction 2 on the MI80, EVS exported some 700 trucks in 2007.
"That equates to around 75% of our total sales by volume but about 50% by value," remarks Wright.
He could probably have sold more vehicles outside the UK had he been able to lay his hands on them. In more recent months, however, the stock shortage has eased significantly, he reports.
"We're receiving endless phone calls from people wanting to sell stuff. Back in 2007 we were being asked by exporters to supply, say, 10 to 15 vehicles at a time, but we couldn't always get them," he continues. "Now we can, and we can offer them at a slightly better price, too."
That is not because sterling has fallen dramatically in value, but because supply has been coming more into line with demand. Any currency movement benefits have, to a degree, been offset by increasing fuel and shipping costs, Wright says.
Tractor units account for the vast majority of EVS's sales, and the bulk of the trucks it ships overseas are Mercedes. "It's a truly global brand," he remarks. "People try other stuff, but they always come back to the threepointed star."
Domestic trade Wright likes to sell Mercedes in Britain, too. "If I supply a domestic haulier with, say, a twoto three-year-old Actros, I can usually tell them I'll be able to give them a good price for it in three years' time because I've got an overseas market for it," he states.
And it is not just Actros that exporters are interested in. "Axor has got a good following, too, especially in Russia. It's very easy to convert to left-hand drive," he says. "However, anything that goes to Russia has to be less than five years old as measured from date of build.
"If it's exported to Kenya, it must be less than seven years old, again from date of build. However, you can send anything to places such as Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda."
So what's Wright's view of the state of the UK trade? Tough times mean that hauliers are reluctant to spend more than they have to, he says.
"Although we can still sell the dearer stuff, we're finding a lot of customers are looking for fourto five-year-old trucks that are priced at up to £20,000 or so," he observes. "That allows them to keep their monthly payments down; and they can usually find the 20% deposit that finance companies are typically looking for these days."
It also gives them a Euro-3 vehicle that will meet the requirements of the London low-emission zone (LEZ).
"We're seeing a lot of operators who run two trucks part-exchanging both of them and coming out with a single vehicle that they'll operate as an owner-driver," he says. "That's the kind of cutbacks the transport industry i seeing at present."
As for prices, Wright believes they have levelled off. "They're becoming a lot more realistic," he observes.
Net gain
EVS's website (www.evsuk.com) generates many of the inquiries he receives, and another site the company is responsible for, Sell Your Truck (www.sellyourtruck comic), is a handy source of vehicleshe usually has 120 to 130 in stock.
"We introduced it a couple of years ago, when we couldn't get the trucks we needed," he says.
All hauliers have to do is fill in the details of the vehicles they want to dispose of and e-mail them to the website; they will he e-mailed back a valuation within 24 hours. EVS will also state whether it wants to buy them or not.
If it does want to make a purchase, and the operator is happy with the valuation, then the trucks the site handles trailers, too will be picked up from his premises. Payment is made by banker's draft on collection.
"The lads we use on collection work are very good," Wright says. "If they see that there is something not quite right about the truck when they arrive at the owner's yard then they'll call us immediately and we can decide what to do about it. Fortunately that rarely happens." •