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Andy Picton's blog: High-spec vans outperform the market
Date: Monday, April 3, 2017
With new registrations up 1.2% on the same point in 2016, demand is currently reflecting an energised UK economy. Large vans over 2.5t saw sales increase by 5.6% on January 2016 year-on-year, while pick-ups rose by 28.9%. With CVs the backbone of the British economy, it’s good to see 2017 start in such a positive vein.
Ford took the top three sales spots for January with the Transit Custom, Transit and Transit Connect, respectively. This represented over 6,000 units combined. Volumes of used stock have increased sharply of late with some auctions reporting sales of more than 700 units. The wider availability of ‘bread-and-butter’ models has adversely affected their values, whilst those best-presented and more highly specified examples remain in limited supply and therefore continue to outperform the market.
This is reflected in the small and medium panel vans sectors where strongest demand has been for the current Ford Transit Connect, Citroen Berlingo Enterprise, Ford Transit Custom Limited, Renault Trafic Sport, VW Transporter Highline and the Vauxhall Vivaro Sportive, while lower-spec models have typically seen values come under downward pressure.
Large panel vans can often struggle where return conditions are usually poor and the vehicle has been hard worked. Demand is often limited, with values coming under negative pressure and later-year examples susceptible to discounted offers on new and pre-registered examples.
Lutons with tail-lifts, tippers or dropsiders or those with specialist equipment have sold strongly on the back of limited supply and a robust economy, with the old-shape Transit 350 preferred as the donor chassis.
The used 4x4 market has seen strength and weakness in equal measure, with strong prices paid for high-spec models with plenty of extras, while a weakening has been seen in late-year previous-generation models.
Andy Picton is chief commercial vehicle editor of Glass’s, the used vehicle valuation experts.
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