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Heading for the recovery room?
Page 51
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Redundancies and new company budgets are helping boost demand and supply in the used van market. Is this the green shoots of recovery, asks British Car Auctions?
Words: Kevin Swallow THE USED VAN market is enjoying a revival. following a tough 2008, with buyers and vendors trading on the auction floor.
Duncan Ward, British Car Auction's head of LCV sales, says after a long slump, confidence in the used light CV market is rising.
"Many dealers ran stocks down last year and have been busy replenishing their forecourts in response to a spike in retail demand. Vans that appeared too expensive for the marketplace last year, now seem to have washed through," he says.
Explaining the upturn, Ward says: "There are increasing numbers of redundancies in manufacturing and engineering, many of these will be skilled tradesmen and women who will strike out on their own. The first thing they will buy is a van," he says.
Meanwhile, established business embarking on a new financial year will have -ringfenced the troubles of 2008 and are now looking to the future" — meaning new budgets and new vehicles "Are these the first green shoots of recovery?" he asks. `After all, light used CVs are hardly a glamour buy, they are a business tool, and if sales are strong, it suggests there are businesses out there looking ahead." •