BCA PULSE: VAN PRICES FALL IN JUNE

Average monthly values for LCV’s continued to slip in June, making it two consecutive monthly falls on the back of the record levels reached in April of this year, according to BCA’s latest Pulse Report.




LCV values averaged £4,280 across the board in June, a fall of £186 (4.1%) against May’s values, with both fleet & lease and part-exchange values decreasing, while nearly-new posted an increase.



■Average fleet/lease values fell by £164 (3.2%) to £4,909 – a back-to-back fall following a run of six consecutive ‘record months’.

■Part-Exchange values fell by £74 (2.8%) to £2,482 in June.

■In contrast, nearly new values increased to £10,950 in June from £10,311 in May – a £639 (6.1%) rise over the month. Volumes remained low as they have done for many months.

As has been the case for a number of months, year-on-year values remain higher than those recorded in 2009 – by over £600 in June - and average monthly values remain well ahead of the £4,000 ‘price barrier’ that was breached for the first time in December 2009.



BCA - June Avg AGE Avg MILEAGE Avg VALUE Avg CAP Sale vs CAP

VANS - ALL 52.27 69,992 £4,280 £4,444 96.30%

NEARLY NEW 8.95 10,351 £10,950 £11,197 97.79%

FLEET 41.30 62,974 £4,909 £5,098 96.28%

PART EX 80.92 89,506 £2,482 £2,581 96.14%



Reflecting this second monthly price reversal, CAP figures for used LCVs dropped from an average 99.95% across the board, to 96.3%, with the biggest relative drop in the nearly new sector (down some 8 points). Perhaps more tellingly, however, conversions have slipped by as much as 15 percentage points over recent weeks, leaving stock unsold in greater volumes than the market has seen for some time.



Duncan Ward, BCA’s General Manager Commercial Vehicles commented “We reported last month on a subtle slowing of demand in the used LCV market seen over recent weeks. It seems some of that market seasonality is creeping back into the figures, and if we look at June 2008 and 2009, values in both months dipped after stronger May results.



Ward added “We’ve recently seen a bit of a turning point in demand. Van dealers are finding it more difficult to churn their existing stock because retail sales have eased off; and when that happens they are not bidding as strongly in the halls or online for replacement vehicles. However, demand is far from flat, it’s just not as strong as we saw earlier this year. What we may be seeing is a return to a ‘normal’ level of business and some of that much hoped for price stability in van prices - at a level that compares very favourably with 2009 values.”