New research by the SMMT has shown that of the 3.57 million vans on UK roads at the end of 2010, 31.1% were not eligible for London’s new Low Emission Zone (LEZ) that comes into effect on 3 January 2012. More surprising is the fact that London exceeded the national average with 37% of vans (almost 85,000) not meeting the emission standards. Manheim Remarketing believes that this could have a significant impact on used van prices as a spike in demand for three to five year old vans could result in a shortage of vehicles even though a recent survey also showed that 61% of used van dealers did not believe they would have a problem sourcing vehicles.

James Davis, director of Commercial Vehicles, Manheim Remarketing said: 'I would encourage dealers to source vans now rather than wait until the end of the year as there will likely be a large number of drivers wanting to avoid paying the £100 daily charge for entering the LEZ. De-fleet volumes are reducing right across our network and online activity has increased significantly with the average number of log-ons regularly exceeding 150 buyers per auction.

‘Combined with physical attendees some sales are seeing in excess of 350 buyers vying for a diminishing volume of stock. This situation is not likely to get any better in the foreseeable future as the impact of the near 40% fall in new registrations in 2008 begins to be felt in the used market. With up to 85,000 vans likely to be impacted by the LEZ changes, having the right stock to meet that demand should be an absolute priority.’