New figures from vehicle remarketing specialist British Car Auctions (BCA) show that ex-fleet vans — such as those from large van hire fleets — attract the strongest prices at auction, as professional buyers complete for these high quality, one-owner vans, which typically have a full service history.
According to the BCA data, values for vans from fleet and leasing companies have improved by £110 (1.7%) in October compared to September to £6,518 – the third consecutive month a record value has been achieved and the seventh record value seen in 2013.
The average price of ex-fleet and lease vans has risen by an astonishing 25% over the last year, as the table below shows.
| Fleet/Lease | Avg Age (mnths) | Avg Mileage | Avg Value | Sale vs CAP | Sale vs MRP |
| Oct 2012 | 45.24 | 72,352 | £5,201 | 101.52% | 32.60% |
| Oct 2013 | 40.84 | 69,547 | £6,518 | 103.16% | 37.49% |
Data courtesy of BCA (www.british-car-auctions.co.uk)
The fall in average age is interesting, as there seem to be two possible interpretations:
- Large fleet operators are deliberately shortening their replacement cycles to boost residual values, thus lowering their total cost of ownership.
- Improved economic conditions mean that fleet operators are feeling more confident and want to reduce the average age of their vans to improve their image and avoid the maintenance requirements of older vans — in particular, they may be starting to defleet their vans before they are due for their first MOT test, at 36 months.
I don’t know which — if either — of these is the explanation for the five-month reduction in average age, but it is noticeable that the average monthly mileage of ex-fleet/lease vans has also risen over the last year, from 1600 in October 2012 to 1700 in October 2013. This could point to an improvement in business conditions.