Used values remain high in November, finds BCA report

A competitive marketplace and continued demand from professional buyers saw dealer part-exchange and nearly-new values reach record levels, while average values for fleet and lease vans also rose for the third month in succession.

BCA found that headline average value rose by £123 to £5,777, equivalent to a 2.1% uplift compared to October and the second highest figure on record. Year-on-year values were up by £162 or 2.8%, with the average van in 2015 being two months younger and 2,000 miles lower.

Year-on-year table: All vans

BCA’s LCV operations director, Duncan Ward, commented: “November was another strong month for LCV sales at BCA with average values improving to another high point for 2015 and strong demand across the range of commercial stock on offer at BCA. BCA is also seeing a more attractive mix of stock with less duplication of models and this is keeping buyers interested and prices firm. At the budget end of the market, higher mileage, poorer condition vans are selling providing they are priced in line with market expectations.

“Professional buyers are competing strongly for LCVs that are in ready-to-retail condition, particularly any vehicles with a high specification or unusual configuration. Non-trade buyers have also been active in recent weeks and this has had a notable effect on performance in the dealer part-exchange sector where values have been climbing since the spring months.”

“As we said last month, there is continued demand for vehicles to go straight to work in the parcel delivery and courier sectors to meet the needs of the online retailers.”

The fleet and lease sector recorded average values of £6,551 in November, an increase of £124 over October and the highest point reached since March of this year. CAP performance fell back slightly to 99.35%, while retained value against MRP (Manufacturer Recommended Price) improved to 33.99%.Year-on-year, values were down by £29 (0.4%), with performance against MRP down by nearly three and a half percentage points.

Year-on-year table: Fleet & lease vans

Average part-exchange LCV values rose for the fourth month running, up by £106 (2.7%) to £4,032 – the highest monthly value ever recorded for part-exchange vans at BCA.

CAP average comparisons were found to have improved slightly to 102.7%, while year-on-year values were ahead by £174 (4.5%), although CAP performance declined by around three percentage points over the year. Notably average mileage has declined by a substantial 8,500 miles over the year, with average age dropping by around 2.6 months.

Year-on-year table: Part-Ex vans

Nearly-new LCV values averaged £15,228 in November – an increase of £614 (4.2%) compared to October and the highest value ever recorded for nearly-new stock in the Pulse report. As always, this has to be taken in the context of the very low volumes reaching the market and the model mix factor, as well as the continuing availability of ‘new shape’ models reaching the used market.