Values of nearly new vans are under pressure at auction and failing to meet guide prices. That’s the view of auction house Manheim which said current prices of many nearly new vans were fetching just 85% of official guide prices.
Manheim said the decline in prices fetched was caused by van manufacturers offering big discounts on new vans in order to hit record levels of registrations. “Nearly-new used van stock remains to be a concern against performance to the guide. This issue is not going away.
“We have seen record levels of sub 12-month stock in our auction halls this year. “September sees more new models being launched; many manufacturers are reporting their desire to hit record levels of registrations.
“This will impact nearly-new auction stock. Current auction prices have reported many of these examples performing around the 85% of the estimated guide price,” said Matthew Davock, head of LCV at Manheim.
The pressure on nearly new van values was flagged up by Glass’s in July. “Vehicle manufacturers have honed in on the strength of the UK’s economy, determined to force-feed us with new vehicles of every type with this being driven by excessive levels of discounting and other incentives,” said Glass’s chief editor commercial vehicles George Alexander at the time.
Alexander said “a great number of bad deals are still being struck” in the new commercial vehicle market to shift stock.
