Two in five fleets plan to add used vans within three years, Arval finds

Two in five fleets (39%) plan to add used vans to their operations within the next three years, the Arval Fleet and Mobility Observatory has found.

15% of fleets surveyed by Arval currently operate used vans.

Larger companies were more likely to be planning used van acquisitions, with 46% of companies employing more than 1,000 people expecting to add them within three years.

This was compared with 35% of companies employing between 100 and 999 people, and 39% of companies employing 99 or fewer people.

John Peters, head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, said: “While van fleets have been slower than their car counterparts to adopt used vehicles – 53% of car fleets currently operate preowned – the gap is quickly narrowing.

“There are probably a number of factors behind this shift for van operators but perhaps the most important is buying new has become more expensive, especially for fleets that are electrifying, so cheaper, used examples are becoming a more attractive alternative.

“To some extent, this finding is a surprise because larger companies tend to want to buy vehicles in larger quantities, and it would be very difficult for a large corporate to buy identical used vans in the quantities they need.

“However, anecdotally, we hear that many of the preowned vans being bought by fleets are relief vehicles or one-off examples used for specific purposes and, given this fact, the data makes more sense.