Used commercial vehicle prices climb post lockdown

Demand for commercial vehicles is on the rise following the reopening of showrooms after the coronavirus lockdown, according to new data from Auto Trader.

The number of unique users to its Auto Trader Vans marketplace increased by 40 percent year-on-year in June, and rose by 79 percent compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. 

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Analysing around 186,000 commercial vehicles on the market, Auto Trader also found that average prices rose in line with the increase in demand, going up from £13,128 on average on March 22, to £13,402 on May 20. On June 1, the average price of a used CV increased to £13,710 and by July 6 it was averaging £14,404, marking a 10 percent increase on the pre-lockdown average price. 

"With over 64 million total visits to Auto Trader last month, we have seen extremely strong consumer demand since retailers have been able to reopen their showrooms," said Auto Trader’s director of commercial vehicles, Rob Morphet. "This latest data clearly shows that it hasn’t been limited to cars and there is a huge opportunity in the CV market too. 

"It’s reassuring to see retailers haven’t been tempted to drop their prices in order to entice buyers on to their digital and physical forecourts; with demand so high, there is absolutely no reason to do so.

"And whilst it’s hard to predict how long it will last, retailers should continue to be confident in their pricing and use accurate and up to the minute data, tools and insight to back up their pricing decisions."

The speed of sales also shifted dramatically, dropping by 43 percent after the lockdown, while the number of 'weekly leads' (defined as calls, emails chats, texts being sent to retailers) grew by 23 percent after the lockdown and was up a massive 103 percent compared to February 2020.