Poor conditions pulling down van prices
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Despite demand and conversion rates rising, British Car Auctions (BCA) says the quality of stock on offer is starting to worsen as average van prices fell in August for the third month running.
Values fell by £74 (1.8%) in August, to £4,056, which is a 3.8% drop from May’s £4,218. Duncan Ward, BCA’s general manager CVs, says average values fell, yet conversions rose sharply.
“The reality is that nearly every vehicle we consign currently has buyers clamouring for it – even vehicles with damaged panels or other cosmetic issues. We simply cannot get enough vans to satisfy the needs of the buyers at the moment, and as a result traders are widening their buying parameters and focusing on older, higher mileage vehicles,” he says.
Through August, BCA experienced a subtle change in the mix of vehicles sold, where available product was often in poorer condition than witnessed in recent months.
“With little else to choose from, even these less cosmetically attractive vehicles were snapped up by trade buyers – but at slightly lower prices, which particularly skewed the average value downwards in the fleet van sector.” However, Ward is optimistic about the future of used values. "While the wider economic conditions may not seem conducive to a bullish LCV market, with the fact that supply is so short, we are expecting prices for many vans to rise sharply in the weeks ahead,” he concludes.