Van prices stall in May
Average monthly values for LCV’s slipped back in May according to BCA’s latest Pulse Report, but still remain well-ahead, year-on-year.
Used LCV’s averaged £4,466 in May, after reaching a record level of £4,693 across the board in April. The fall of £227 was equivalent to a 4.8% decrease and all three main sectors posted lower values compared to April.
Average fleet/lease values fell by £103 (2%) to £5,073 – ending a run of six consecutive ‘record months’.
Nearly new values fell by £533 to £10,311 – a 4.9% decrease compared to April’s figure of £10,844. Volumes remained low as they have done for many months.
Part-Exchange values fell by £159 (5.8%) to £2,556 in May.
However, the market remains well ahead of the values recorded in 2009 and average monthly values have hovered around the £4,500 mark all year. To put this into context, the £4,000 ‘price barrier’ was breached for the first time in December 2009 and the market has not looked back since. Year-on-year comparisons show that May 2010 values are £871 (or 24%) ahead of the corresponding month last year.
Despite this price reversal, CAP figures for used LCVs averaged 99.95% across the board, although there was a little downward pressure from last month in the bigger volume sectors – fleet & lease down one point at 99.79% and dealer part-exchange down four and a half points to 99.71%. Nearly-new LCV CAP values actually improved by over a point to 105.73%.
Duncan Ward, BCA’s General Manager Commercial Vehicles commented “There has been a subtle slowing of demand in the used LCV market over recent weeks. Following month after month of rising values and records being established, this may come as a surprise to market watchers, but we are now entering that period of the year where prices have tended to slow.”
Ward added “Despite what we saw last year, values cannot keep rising inexorably – common sense suggests eventually the market will revert to type and we will start to see the peaks and troughs of a typical annual cycle. We have been telling our customers for some time that we expect prices to stabilise in 2010 and they have – at a significantly improved level above 2009 values. It is likely that the used LCV market values will experience a more traditional pattern this year.”
Fleet & Lease Vans
Although values fell back by over £100 in May, average values for fleet & lease vans have exceeded £5,000 for four consecutive months having reached that benchmark for the first time in February. When 2010 is considered in context of the preceding 24 months, values appear to be stabilised at ‘record’ levels. Year-on-year values are over £1,000 higher in 2010, and May compared to the bottom of the market in December 2008 is £2,061 ahead – equivalent to a 68% uplift in less than 18 months.
Ward commented “Well-prepare fleet stock continues to attract a lot of attention from bidders, and any vehicle with a retail-style specification or rare configuration is likely to outstrip guide values by a considerable margin.”
Part-Exchange Vans
Average values for Dealer-entered part-exchange stock fell for the second time this year, with a reasonably substantial £159 – equivalent to nearly 6% - coming off the value between April and May. Price pressure is typically experienced in the used LCV market over the summer months so this should come as no surprise to market watchers and values remain well ahead of where they were over much of the preceding 24 months. Year-on-year, May 2010 is £583 or 29.5% ahead of the equivalent month last year.
Nearly-new Vans
Nearly new values fell by £533 to £10,311 – a 4.9% decrease compared to April’s figure of £10,844 – but generated more by model-mix than any specific market pressures. With numbers of new LCV sales remaining depressed, nearly-new vans are very scarce in the market. Performance against CAP improved to over 105%, underlining the demand for the few examples reaching the wholesale market.
