Dealers are warning that there could be a shortage of used vehicles in the future amid signs that operators are extending the lives of their fleets. The recession is prompting operators to hold on to as much capital as they can, rather than spend it on new trucks and other assets.
But Tim Ward at Bradford, West Yorkshire-based dealer Northside Truck & Van says this strategy is storing up problems for the future.
"It's absurd
the situation we are now in with vehicle sales in 2009," he says. "There will be a shortage of used vehicles two or three years ahead."
British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association chief executive John Lewis says leasing and rental companies are adopting the same approach: "Business is tough out there. [Members] are dealing with this by improving the utilisation of their fleets, running vehicles for longer and buying fewer new ones."
However, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says that the situation will right itself in time: "Pendulums have a habit of swinging," says a spokesman. "An imbalance in any one direction will rebalance itself. What we are seeing now is a correction if there's a paucity of vehicles, their values will rise and then create a different set of circumstances."
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