Used vans being sold at a BCA auction in September 2017.

Used van prices reached record levels in September, according to figures from auction group BCA.

The average price of a used van sold at auction last month was £6,651. That’s a 5.1% increase from August and an 8.3% increase the same period last year:

Source: BCA

Of course, some of these price increases are cancelled out by this year’s lower average age and mileage. As shown in the table above, vans sold in September had an average of around 6,500 miles fewer on the clock and were nearly 3 months newer. BCA says that this is a reflection of higher volumes of ex-rental vans and corporate stock being sold.

Duncan Ward, BCA’s LCV Operation Director, says that the demand for used vans is broad based and growing:

The LCV market has seen continued value and volume growth throughout much of 2017. There has been steady demand for vehicles to service online shopping delivery, the construction and civil engineering industries and the small business and entrepreneurial start-up sector. BCA continues to experience plenty of demand for tippers and dropsides, Lutons and larger panel vans, the latter often going back to work to service the online shopping sector.

One way of reading this is to suggest that the real domestic economy is in good shape at the moment. But there is another possible interpretation. Registrations of new vans fell by 4.2% in September, according to recent figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Are small business van buyers trading down — from new to ex-fleet, and from ex-fleet to (older) part-exchange models?

It’s too soon to say if new van sales are in a downtrend. But one point of interest relating to used van sales is that cheaper vans are seeing increasingly strong demand. Prices for dealer part-exchange models — which are usually 6-7 years old — rose sharply for the second consecutive month.

These cheaper, older models fetched an average price of £4,359 in September, up from £4,226 in August and £4,012 in July. To put that in context, the average price of an ex-fleet or lease van was £7,491 last month. So opting for older part-exchanged models is certainly a way to free up cash for companies.

I’ll be keeping an eye on these figures over the next few months, looking for correlations between new van registrations and the different classes of used sales. Although the surge in P/X vans may simply reflect couriers buying cheap extra vans for festive deliveries, it could be the start of a more worrying trend.

Used van prices fell slightly in August, according to the latest sales data from auction group BCA.

The average used van sale price at auction fell from £6,553 in July to £6,420 in last month. However, some or even most of this decline may have been due to a reduction in used van volumes from daily rental fleets.

The big van rental companies supply a significant proportion of used vans under three years old. Whereas many big fleets operate vans for 3-4 years, hire companies often have shorter replacement cycles. This is due in part to their relationships with vehicle manufacturers, who allocate a significant amount of supply to rental fleets each year at preferential prices.

BCA’s figures show that the average age of the vans sold rose by one month in August relative to July. Although a small difference, I’d suggest this could explain the £133 price fall seen last month:

Source: BCA (July average age: 49.6 months, July average mileage 65,881)

Commenting in the August sale figures, BCA’s LCV Operations Director, Duncan Ward said:

“While the headline average figure declined in August, demand remained strong and sold volumes improved, month-on-month.   Dealer PX values climbed sharply to a new record level, although there was some pressure on fleet & lease stock values, largely as a result of declining volumes from the daily rental sector, alongside some duplication of stock and condition issues.”

Mr Ward emphasised that as always, good condition is essential for strong pricing:

“Condition has always been the overriding factor for professional buyers and is critical to achieving first time conversion rates.  What buyers want is clean condition, well maintained stock with all the relevant documentation direct from vendors who price their vehicles realistically.  Taking condition out of the equation, there will always be demand for vehicles with rare and unusual specification, or those finished in a good retail colour with a high specification.”

The bulk of the used vans passing through BCA’s sales halls come from corporate and lease fleets, including rental companies. If we separate out the age, price and mileage figures for this sector of the market, we can see that average sale prices have risen slightly since last year, when measured against manufacturers’ list prices:

Source: BCA

It seems that despite rising volumes, demand for good quality used vans remains strong. With new van registrations under pressure, it remains to be seen how the used market will fare as we head into 2018.