Aston Barclay highlights ‘very fragmented’ used van market

The used van market in 2024 has become “very fragmented” with dealers having to work harder to sell to businesses. That’s the view of auction house Aston Barclay which said high interest rates and cashflow are putting a brake on van sales.

“The market has slowed since Xmas and dealers are having to work harder to sell used LCVs to SMEs who are still feeling the pinch of higher interest rates and a higher cost of living.

“Many SMEs continue to hang onto their current LCV rather than replace it, but this cannot continue forever as vehicles continue to age and cost more money to keep operational,” said Geoff Flood, Aston Barclay head of LCV.

“The demand for used LCVs continues to sit at below £10,000 and generally those vehicles in good condition, a high spec and metallic paint are making more money than the entry level lower spec vehicles,” he added.

The Citroen Relay heads June’s Aston Barclay desirability index with the VW Amarok in second and the Mercedes Vito in third place.

The fact there is a large panel van, a pick-up and mid-size panel van in the top three reinforces just how fragmented the market currently is.

No one size or type of LCV is dominating the used market, instead it is all about dealers sourcing more affordable vehicles for their SME customers mindful of continuing higher borrowing rates and protecting their working cashflow.

Four medium size LCVs figure in the June index – the Mercedes Vito and Citan, the VW Transporter and Ford Transit Custom, while the Citroen Relay, Peugeot Boxer and IVECO Daily prove that larger panel vans are still in demand in the current new market. Three pick-ups – the VW Amarok, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max make up the top 10.

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