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Less vehicle more profit
Page 70
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'Next season, I will mostly be selling... vans:' Our Fast Show-inspired contact suggests that vans are the future of the used market place.
There is one reason why independent truck dealers ought to be selling vans next season: they are the new black. Driver shortages, ferocious competition from overseas, rising wages and rocketing fuel prices are forcing hauliers to rethink or be forced out of the logistics game.
Many are tuning to lighter, quicker, more fuel-efficient vehicles to get the job done. And if an operator is looking from artics to rigids, then an operator running rigids will be looking at reducing weight towards 7.5Winners.
With trucks, 7.5-tonne operations is all about the availability of licence holders. With fewer younger people out there able to drive 75-tonners on their standard car licences, operators are turning towards 3.5-tonners to recruit drivers and get the job done.
Franchised dealers have little choice about what they sell but independents can offer more by turning to the van sector to supplement their bread-and-butter truck market. Some dealers are even hiring out vans from their second-hand stock to keep the cash coming in from different sources. This isn't widespread but it does show how independent traders can remain one step ahead of the franchised sector in terms of versatility.
Operators are concerned with reliability when it comes to purchasing vehicles, and providing decent back-up and warranty for hitech modern engines can he beyond certain traders and operators.
But most operators are simply concerned with getting the job done and having a reliable and flexible source to get in short-term solutions to transport problems.
Here the independents can, and do,steal a march. •