Manheim CV Market Tracker – April

The LCV wholesale market slowed down in April in line with normal seasonal patterns, but low stock levels saw the average selling price increase month-on-month, according to the latest results from Manheim.

The UK’s number one CV auction company reported good levels of demand across its online and physical auction channels, with 81% of vans selling first time.

Matthew Davock, Director of Commercial Vehicles, said: “The CV market remained largely positive through the traditionally quiet month of April, but we did see a shortage of stock, partly driven by long lead-times for new vans.”

“The trend for higher age and mileage vehicles continued as more ex-fleet stock entered the market, but the forces of supply and demand meant that the average selling price rose slightly month-on-month. As always, vehicle specification and condition were the key factors in valuing individual vehicles.”

Manheim also reported continued growth in online buying, and now offers dedicated online sales channels for many of its large van Fleet and Manufacturer operators. This channel is currently representing double digit growth in transactions v prior year.

This contributed to a reduction in average days to sell from 15.4 in April 2018, to 14.3 in April 2019.

Davock continued: “April is generally a challenging month in the CV retail market, and customer feedback suggests that the sunny weather conditions over Easter impacted retail sales and activity in what felt like an extended break.”

“That said, our customers are reporting pockets of positivity in their results for the month, and we expect to see the stock shortage in the wholesale market ease as new van orders are filled over the coming months.”