2011 was a tough year for the automotive market, with cash hard to come by fleets and business users were holding onto their cars to get the most value for money. This caused a chain reaction, with a lack of new car sales; there were fewer used cars available. Fewer cars and fewer buyers resulted in a very quiet market.
A lot of used car inventory is created by contract hire and leasing packages and the main purchasers of these are usually businesses. Businesses use to recycle their cars and vans every 3 years, but now they are holding on to them for up to 4 or 5 years. According to Manheim auctions the average age of a used van increased by 9 months to 59 months.
Manheim's latest figures show that wholesale used van values fell by just 1.3% by 54 to 4,013 in 2011. Last year saw an increase Car Derived Vans up 2.0% by 51 to 2,611, Small Panel Vans increased by 9.7% by 378 to 4,273 and 4x4s went up by 10.5% by 712 to 7,487.
Large panels vans were worst hit, there values went down by 1.8% by 77 down to 4,197. Buses fell 6.0% (358 to 5,565) and Tippers fell 25.8% (1,655 to 4,760). James Davis, director of commercial vehicles, Manheim Remarketing, said: "When looking back to December 2010 it is easy to forget the frenzied market conditions we were experiencing at that time. In the last quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011 there was a considerable influx of stock from high profile business failures.
2012 is not expected to be a much better year and it remains highly unpredictable. The global financial crisis shows no signs of getting any better any time soon. Many pundits suggest that the market may get worse before it gets better.
Author Resource:-
Joanna Small - Automotive Journalist and Enthusiast
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlewebby.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites