Demand for used vans continued to grow in June, which led to the average used van selling price breaking the £10,000 barrier for the first time, according to a leading auction house.
The surge in demand – driven by the shift towards online purchasing and the stipulations of clean air zones – means that drivers are paying nearly 80% more for a used van than they were two years ago.
LCV specialist auction house Manheim recorded two new selling prices for used vans, despite an evident seasonal market cooling period, with this trend expected to continue into the second half of the fiscal year.
The first record was in the average used van selling price of £10,222, an increase of the April record by 3.2% (£315). Vans reaching these figures were a similar age of 60 months and mileage at around 71,000 miles.
“To place this in context, buyers of vans of a similar age and mileage were paying 79% or £4,516 more in June 2021 than they were in June 2019,” said James Davis, customer insight director at automotive services organisation Cox Automotive.
The second of Manheim’s records featured the newer Euro 6 vans, as the average selling price climbed £751 or 5.9% to £13,586.
“This is the highest ever average price recorded for a Euro 6 used van by Manheim,” added Davis. “Although Euro 6 vans are understandably in high demand, Euro 6 vans made up 59% of all vans sold last month – so potential buyers of these vans can rest assured that Manheim can guarantee supply, even when the new market is struggling.”
Price rise set to continue
Used van prices are set to continue to rise in the second half of this year and into 2022, Davis warned, until the supply shortages in the new van market are solved.
Research from Cox Automotive shows that the number of vans on UK roads has increased compared to pre-pandemic levels, while other vehicle types have decreased as the country embraced working from home for much of the pandemic. Davis added: “Vans are driving the UK’s economic recovery as we rebound out of lockdowns.”
Davis also explained why prices are continuing to rise: “The number of vans coming onto the market from fleets is still low, and there are still more wholesale buyers than there are vans,” he said. “The high demand Euro 6 vans are achieving the highest selling prices; however, the periphery stock demand is softening and our auctioneers are getting stuck in to drive bids and interest.
“Dealers are still trying to replenish their stock, and because the usual summer period means that the retail market slows as consumers are spending elsewhere, dealers will hold onto stock for longer. But they will overlook vans with significant damage and high mileage because they know that they will take longer to find a buyer and won’t want to tie up cashflow in slower moving stock.”