Trucks stored in fields
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• John Watts, editor of the CAP Commercial Vehicle Monitor, reckons at least 15,000 used trucks are held in stock at dealers—and in fields, open-cast mines and airfields. "That's a conservative estimate," he adds. 'One manufacturer has suggested it could be nearer 20,000.
"Reasonable numbers of used vehicles have found buyers over the past two or three months, but they haven't made a big dent in the total," he says. Some manufacturers have resorted to sending righthand-drive trucks abroad to be converted to left-hand drive and sold in overseas markets."
Short-term leasing deals and buyback agreements have created the problem, and manufacturers must adopt different policies in the future, he warns.
"End users must be persuaded to operate longer-term contracts, distributors must get more involved with used vehicles and manufacturers must resist chasing market share at any cost."
"Vehicle specification should also be considered," he continues. It is no good entering into a contract with trucks that will be undesirable at termination without adjusting the residual."
Watts is also concerned about manufacturer involvement in Saturday auctions, fearing this practice will lessen the ability of franchised dealers to sell second-hand trucks from their forecourts.