Panel: The 2014 new van market in brief:
- Commercial vehicle market grows 11.0% to 363,155 units in 2014, the highest level since 2007.
- Van market leads growth, up 18.7% to 321,686 registrations for the year
- Continued demand for vans in 2014 saw the commercial vehicle market return to pre-recession levels
- New van demand reflects the growing confidence of many businesses in the UK
How were these figures achieved and what should the market watch out for in 2015?
According to the Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB) fourth quarterly index for 2014, three in five small firms expect to grow their business in 2015.
The index also found that while firms are less confident than in previous quarters, they still expect to hire more staff, increase exports and grow their businesses in the first quarter of 2015.
With the SMMT quoting that 75% of new car sales are made on finance, is the ever increasing popularity of PCP becoming a focus for company car drivers? The recent emphasis on Personal Contract Purchase by both the manufacturers and finance houses is certainly changing the landscape of how vehicles are funded.
Over 2014 at least, the support given to both PCP (Personal Contract Purchase) and PCL/H (Personal Contract Lease/Hire) has given both employers and employees greater choice and flexibility.
Employers are allowing their employees to ‘Opt Out’ of their company car schemes and take a ‘cash alternative’; therefore, relinquishing partial management of car fleets, but more importantly, empowering the employee to manage their own decision of what they drive, and how they fund it.
With this increased support from manufacturers, the level of choice has certainly improved, as drivers find themselves having the option to not only fix their monthly instalments over a chosen period of time, but in some cases of PCP or leasing, choose to pay a premium to have all servicing, maintenance and roadside assistance taken care of too.
CAP Retail and Consumer Specialist Philip Nothard added:”Ultimately, you need to do the homework, opting out, whether this is through a PCP, PCL or even HP comes with some housekeeping – however, you could end up driving a better car than the managed company scheme would allow you.”
However, it’s not just the availability of affordable finance that has seen footfall increased sales. Although not measured, the payment of Payment Protection Claims (PPI), has seen consumers with unexpected windfalls – perfect for putting a large deposit on a new vehicle. However, the PPI payments aren’t going to last forever and this is likely to be a factor in the reduced demand predicted for this year.
What about events such as this year’s general election, will they have a negative effect on sales?
“Not in the short term”, a spokesman for the SMMT added.
