This was a decline of £74 compared to the record figure achieved in April, but up by £334 or 6.0% compared to a year ago.
The fleet and lease sector recorded average values of £6,786 in May, a fall of just £32 (0.4%) compared to April. Retained value against MRP (Manufacturer Recommended Price) fell marginally to 35.70%. Year on year, values were up by £339 (5.3%), with performance against MRP relatively flat. Both age and mileage have dropped over the year, with mileage falling by a significant 8,355 miles.
BCA’s LCV operations director, Duncan Ward commented: “May is typically a slower month for the used vehicle sector, with the two bank holidays often proving disruptive to trading patterns. However, the LCV market remains generally confident and professional buyers were competing strongly for the stock on offer.
“Average values in 2016 have stepped up significantly from those recorded last year, as these high levels of demand continue – largely driven by the construction and civil engineering industries, as well as the courier and online delivery sectors.”
Ward added: “With the summer months upon us, the market is now moving into a period when demand and values typically remain relatively flat and this year we still have the distractions of the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament, the EU referendum and the Rio Olympics all to come. History tells us events such as these have notable if short-term effects on the LCV sector and this year will probably be no different.”
“This is very likely to put pressure on price and conversion rates for volume vendors and means sellers should pay attention to remarketing processes and disciplines in the weeks ahead. Vehicles should be properly appraised, graded and valued at remarketing time, to ensure they have every opportunity to sell the first time they are offered.”
He concluded: “We are also seeing increasing volumes of same make, base specification stock in the current market. Many are from rental sources, typically finished in white and are often in poor condition. While the better examples will sell well, the poorer examples need to be very keenly priced to attract buyers.”
