Fall in supply drives interest in larger used panel vans

THE continued scarcity of new LCV stock is helping fuel increased demand within the used LCV sector with large panel vans dominating this month’s Aston Barclay Desirability index.

Following the shift towards small and mid-sized panel vans in Q1, interest has again returned to larger used commercials, with the Volkswagen Crafter proving to be the most desirable used LCV in May thanks to its great payload and load cube.

This has been fuelled by the continued growth of the parcel delivery sector and by operators turning to used vans as they lose patience with the continued lack of new van supply. Sales of larger panel vans between 2.5-3.5 tonnes fell by 19.1% in April alone and by a total of 29.1% across the entire sector.

Other larger panel vans on the Aston Barclay list, included the Citroen Relay, Peugeot Boxer, Renault Master and Ford Transit.

Geoff Flood, Aston Barclay’s National LCV Sales Manager, said: “The market has moved from its preference for smaller fuel-efficient used vans to larger panel vans based on what operators like courier companies can get their hands on. When they can’t access new vans they have no option but to look to the used market.

They are joining many other trades who are replacing or renewing their vehicles as well as rental suppliers who are still in the market to bolster their fleets.”

Aston Barclay’s monthly index takes into consideration three key metrics: web views prior to sale, number of physical and online bids per sale, and the sale price achieved as a percentage of CAP average.