Is the used van market more resilient than others?

by Leanne Thomson, Van Lead

During our latest LCV webinar, we shared insight into audience and engagement trends seen on Auto Trader Vans over recent weeks. We were joined by guests from Compare the Market and Cox Automotive who also shared their findings to give a full view of the market through every point in a buyer’s journey.

At the point of lockdown, Auto Trader Vans was showing a very similar trend to Auto Trader as a whole and was -35% down versus the previous year. However since the 13th April, users have continued to grow and we’ve seen signs of a faster recovery on vans. This has grown even further since we shared the data on the webinar, and last week users were up 40% compared with the same week last year.

These users also appear to be more engaged, with advert views and leads also on the up. Last week advert views were 58% higher than the same week the previous year and average weekly leads now back at pre-lockdown levels.

At the point of Lockdown, we ran some buyer research to understand intent to purchase on Auto Trader Vans. At that point 21% of people browsing the site were looking to buy a van in the next two weeks and 36% in the next three months. We have since updated this research and those looking to buy in the next two weeks has risen to 31% and those in the next three months to 44%.

The Head of Van Insurance at Compare the Market, Rob Warren shared that whilst lots of products have been affected during lockdown, insurance quotes for vans have exceeded expectations, suggesting a resilient market. There has however been a change in user behaviour on Compare the Market, with an increase in desktop users and a shift in the types of usage of vans. The biggest growth has come from people using vans for “own goods”, which are traders and “haulage” which will be down to an increased need for businesses to deliver goods directly to consumers.  

On Auto Trader, the biggest behaviour change has been how buyers are choosing to interact with retailers. 15% of leads now come in via text, chat or email, double what they were pre lockdown, which we expect to be a long-term shift in behaviour.

James Davis, Director of Customer Insight and Strategy at Cox Automotive was on hand to give us an overview of the wholesale market from Dealer Auction and Manheim activity.

30% of all vehicles sold during the first fortnight of the outbreak were vans, 70% of which were sold via Manheim Simulcast. Catalogue views are also higher than pre-lockdown figures, showing a sustained level of interest in commercial vehicles with many dealers still trading vans during lockdown.

He identified several short-term trends that from his point of view could impact the market going forward. “Vans are the lifeblood of business. Government support packages appear to be stimulating investment in used CVs, for example through business rate relief, deferred HMRC VAT payments and furlough. This releases cash reserves to give companies the confidence to upgrade and invest in brand new or newer used vans. The daily rental flexi-rent model is likely to grow significantly with larger businesses looking to on/off hire without penalty. And finally, the OEM appetite for large fleet deals will be affected with challenges on lead time extensions. This shortage on new production, compounded with potential Brexit tariffs, will lead to a supercharged used van market.”

The resilience and confidence that we’ve seen through buying behaviours in recent weeks are all encouraging signs for the LCV market. We wish you well for the coming weeks and please keep an eye out for more vans insight here and in your inbox.

To watch the webinar back, on-demand, in full, click here.