Shoreham vehicle auctions, Lancing, West Sussex.
Demand for used vans ‘rocketed’ in December as twitchy buyers switched away from buying new.
That’s the view of Shoreham Auctions which said reduced economic confidence helped strengthen the used LCV market in December and January.
The market for new vans has taken a hit. Yesterday the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Trders reported new van sales down 20% due to “weakened business confidence”.
Shoreham said the economic slowdown has forced companies to turn to used vehicles rather than sign up to long term finance agreements for new vehicles.
It added that some fleets continue to buy used LCVs at auction to avoid increasing pressure from OEMs to order one or more EVs for every 10 new diesel vehicles they order.
This helped contribute to the strongest December and January SVA MD Alex Wright has experienced in his 35-year auction career.
“The demand for used LCVs skyrocketed in December as the economic downturn and uncertainty saw operators buying used LCVs rather than locking into long term finance agreements to buy new vehicles.
The gap between the price of a new van and a used van has also reached record levels with many SMEs unable to justify paying £40-50,000 for a new 3.5 tonne van. This is particularly relevant with specialist vehicles such as tippers and dropsides.
“We continue to welcome fleets to our Tuesday LCV auction who are buying good quality used vehicles to avoid being forced to buy eLCVs from OEMS keen to meet their ZEV Mandate targets. Many fleets are still not prepared for an electric journey as their current usage and mileage sits outside the capability of current electric LCVs available,” he added.
Wright estimates the weaker Covid-induced new LCV sales in 2022 will leave the market short of between 80-100,000 three-year old used vehicles in 2025 and in 2026.
“Competition from dealers is forcing up prices, especially for the clean three-year old vehicles with a full-service history which are less readily available in the current market. We are likely to see a buoyant used LCV market in 2025 and into 2026,” he added.
2024 had been a tough year for the used LCV market up until August when the market suddenly woke up.
“The used LCV market was extremely tough for the first seven months of 2024 and finally lower prices and a slowing economy encouraged more dealers to start refreshing their stock. The used market suddenly sprung into life,” said Wright.
More electric LCVs have already started reaching the auctions in 2025, but the majority are older models with a lower range and slow charging speed and demand has been slow. Some ex-utility electric Vauxhall Vivaros and the Toyota Proace with a larger battery have bucked the trend, while sub-£10,000 car derived vans such as the Kangoo have found buyers.
“The older used electric vans provide value for money for some operators and dealers are willing to give them a chance on their forecourts, but the more expensive vehicles are a much tougher proposition,” said Wright.
