'If the man get it right put the indep n under pressure'
Page 32
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Sleeping giants have a habit of waking up just when you least expect them to. Take Iveco Ford. Despite its enviable position in the new truck marketplace above 3.5 tonnes, IFT's activities in the used-truck sector have historically been rather patchy to say the least.
Last year, however, with the setting up of Truck Sure Services (TS5)—a joint venture involving its franchised dealers designed to offer guaranteed buyback deals on new trucks—the Anglo-Italian company signalled its intention to take more control of its destiny in the used market. A lot has happened since then, not least to Iveco Ford itself. At the recent TipCon show, commercial operations director Roger Phillips described how the company would be splitting into three operating groups, for light, medium and heavyweight vehicles, each controlling their own sales and marketing. He also spoke at length about the desire for IFT to become the "intellectual leader" in the UK commercial vehicle market.
That phrase might not mean much to the average second-hand dealer, but after his official speech Phillips revealed details of IFTs plans to consolidate its activities in the used market. In his own words, Iveco Ford "will be going down a new road on used". According to Phillips, IFT will be taking one step further beyond TSS, which he describes as "a residual value company", to show "more retail and entrepreneurial flair". Among its activities in the used market IFT plans to: • Introduce new credit ratings for used buyers; • Provide new operating leases on used models sold through the IFT network; • Establish a new marketing and branding programme; • Set upgraded operating standards; • Create specialist used truck centres "which may not necessarily be based on an existing dealership". Quite what all that will mean in terms of new investment Phillips isn't saying, but it's not likely to come cheap. Cynical independents may well say that this kind of thing has all been done, or at least attempted, before. However, few of them would deny the growing pressure on all vehicle manufacturers to institute greater control on their vehicle disposal. If the manufacturers get it right, it will clearly put the independents under increasing pressure when it comes to getting hold of the late-model stock that the truck makers have previously been happy to see sold outside their own dealer networks.
With the change in operating structure, the man in charge of IFT's TSS used-truck operation has also changed; in comes Peter Rhodes, director of fleet sales. Could the giant be stirring? The used market for larger vans is currently showing signs of some weakness for certain models. A continuing fall off in demand and values for Mercedes Ti (Bremen) models was inevitable as the excellent Sprinter became established. However, the size of these drops in value might well be sizeable as more late Ti vans come up for disposal. Transit high-roof models are another area for concern as the numbers of low-mileage late examples coming on to the market grows day by day. Dealers report few problems as yet but most are worried about the level of customer demand coupled to the predicted surplus of late stock. A few vans are faring less well at the moment: the Toyota Lite Ace and the Renault Trafic have both lost ground. As expected the truck market is slowing down as the summer gets underway. Values have been falling in the past few weeks and will continue to do so throughout July. Values for even the best used tractors continue to slide and will do so for some months to come. As widely described by several commentators, the aggressive market stance adopted by manufacturers has eroded the gap between new and used commercial vehicles. Tractors are particularly susceptible to this problem, due in part to the large sums of money at stake. The balance of supply and demand is currently well out of step and is bound to get worse before being resolved. Surprisingly, values For some three-axle tractive units have been especially hard hit, which goes against the trading pattern established over several years. The traditional slow-down in sales over the summer months will give all concerned an opportunity to settle the market down, establish realistic values and pick up the pieces for August/September when sales usually improve. This is a time to act responsibly if lasting damage is to be avoided. Values for six and eight-wheeler hook loaders fall by more than their related tippers. There is still a market for well specified models but the premium price they had previously enjoyed is being nibbled away. The numbers sold both new and used are small so if that part of the economy served by these heavyweights improves, their values will firm.
The guide price for most tippers has been adjusted downwards in line with their current market performance. However, an optimistic reading of future prospects would be that used values might well be bottoming out and could bounce back within six months.