Manheim Remarketing has announced record sales results for a selection of nearly new vans entered for auction by Arval and Enterprise Rent a Car, at its Gloucester and Colchester auction centres in the last week of July.

During the recent Arval special sale section at Manheim Auctions, Gloucester, a selection of 21 low mileage 2010-plate Ford Transit, Connect and Fiesta vans sold with a total sale value of £215,875. Details of some of the vans sold at Manheim Auctions, Gloucester include:

• Transit 260 85PS SWB Low Roof – 4225 miles – sold for £10,000 – 113.96% of CAP
• Fiesta 1.4 TDCI – 6875 miles – sold for £6,875 – 110.44% of CAP
• Transit 350 115PS Double Cab Tipper – 7393 miles – sold for £14,150 – 110.55% of CAP
• Transit 350 115PS Single Cab Tipper – 5774 miles – sold for £14,000 – 108.95% of CAP
• Connect T200 75PS SWB Low Roof – 5675 miles – sold for £7,750 – 108.01% of CAP

During the Enterprise Rent A Car special sale section at Manheim Auctions, Colchester, a selection of 47 2010 “10” -plate ex-rental vans, including Ford Transit SWB/LWB, Volkswagen Transporter, Vauxhall Vivaro and Mercedes Sprinter panel vans sold for an overall average of 109.25% of CAP.

At both centres over 250 physical and online attendees were registered on each sale day. Due to its scarcity, buyers were fiercely competing over the ‘late low’ stock, in addition to the remaining sale entries on offer. Across all of the 2010 10-plate entry sold, Manheim Remarketing recorded an average uplift from online bidding of £250 per van entered.

The record auction performances follow Manheim Remarketing’s prediction of a spike in demand for newer used vans, as operators react to London’s forthcoming low emission zone (LEZ) rules. The impact is expected to hit the majority of small businesses and sole traders hardest, who tend to buy older vans and run them over a longer period of time.

James Davis, general manager, commercial vehicles, Manheim Remarketing said: “I have been saying for some time that the wholesale van market is robust. Here is further proof, with industry leading sales results recorded right in the middle of the traditional seasonal softening of the market. Nearly new vans have always been fantastic value when compared with the list price of a new van, especially with recent increases in list prices. Additionally operators do not have to suffer long delivery times associated with some new models,”

“It is reckoned that there are over 70,000 vans that need modifying or replacing to operate inside the LEZ come January next year. Our research shows that many LEZ operators run older vans that travel lower annual mileages within a specific radius of base. I predict a proportion of these operators will look at a nearly new used van; not only to ensure compliance for the LEZ, but to ‘future proof’ them in the face of future tightening of LEZ emission standards in 2015 and beyond.”