Volume decline was sharp in the fleet & lease LCV sector, where sold numbers decreased by over 34% in the month, with much of the early termination product seen this year to date now washed through. Despite this, average values only fell by £68, equivalent to a 1.4% decline compared to March. Year-on-year values are adrift by £552 or 10.8% – again a very similar differential to the March figures.  Fleet vans averaged 97.3% of CAP in April, over a point down compared to March.

Average values fell by £211 (just over 5%) compared to March, while sold volumes declined significantly by over 31%, month on month.  

Duncan Ward, BCA's general manager – commercial vehicles, commented: 'We have been saying that buyer confidence has been quite fragile for some weeks now and in April we saw the first real concrete evidence of a softening in demand.

'As always, the balance between supply and demand is the critical price driver, and with greater volumes coming into the market and little increased appetite for stock over the unusual trading conditions in April it was inevitable that values, sold volumes and conversion rates would slip.

'The coming weeks will be a real test for a marketplace which has performed pretty consistently since the turn of 2010. LCV sellers should look carefully at their remarketing plans and objectives between now and the autumn months, and ensure their stock is well prepared and sensibly valued in line with market expectations.'