When it comes to used vans, there’s probably no one that knows the market better than British Car Auctions (BCA). BCA auctions thousands of used vans every year – meaning that it has a very good idea of the level of demand for each type of van.

According to a recent Transport News article, Ford Transits are still one of the very biggest sellers in the used marketplace. Available in a vast array of sizes, shapes and payloads, the Transit offers a truly flexible van platform, combined with the reliability and value traditionally associated with the Ford marque.

Other popular choices in the van sector include Mercedes Sprinters and Vitos – favoured by couriers for their reliability and by all buyers for their quality and “rock solid residuals”.

At the small end of the market, I’ve written before about the outstanding success of the Peugeot Partner/Citroen Berlingo and good examples of these continue to sell well.

Other strong contenders are the Renault Trafic/Vauxhall Vivaro and Fiat Scudo, Peugeot Expert or Citroen Dispatch – all of which share useful load capacity with refined, car-like driving qualities. This combination has made them very popular with self-employed van operators who may also use their vans for private use.

The good news is that the van hire companies know all this too – and you will find that the vast majority of hire vans fall into BCA’s best-selling list.