Dubbed "The Used LCV Market Report 2010", the new publication has been authored by Professor Peter Cooke and the team at Buckingham University Centre for Automotive Management. The report examines the United Kingdom LCV market in detail and analyses the dynamics and changes in the sector over the past few years, looks at the routes to market and the implications of supply and demand on price, and identifies some of the strategic implications of the recession on the market.

The report outlines the likely key drivers for change in the used LCV market over the coming years. These include carbon footprint and CO2 emissions, balanced against  cost and reliability issues; the potential rise of electric LCVs;  road pricing and congestion charging;  Duty of Care; Fuel strategy; Corporate tax; and climate change as that becomes an increasingly hot political topic.

Professor Cooke also identifies the changing pressures on LCV fleet operators as they ride out the recession and looks at how used vehicle disposal will become increasingly important, particularly for businesses that wholly own their fleets where optimum disposal can have a significant impact on the total cost of operation. He also sees a future for alternative providers of LCV capacity, particularly with the continued growth in internet shopping; which is likely to have a significant impact on demand for LCVs.

The report also examines the effect of the recession on both the new and used LCV markets. Professor Cooke suggests that when new LCV sales plummet and remain relatively low for a long period of time, it has a powerful impact on the mix and age of the parc – and a knock-on effect for used LCV sales and stock availability in particular.

Professor Cooke concluded: 'The LCV sector is one of the few markets where a whole industry has grown up with buyers rarely seeking to buy a new unit. Careful quantitative analysis of the used LCV market suggests the sector is generally under estimated and under valued and is possibly under exploited, even accounting for the highly professional players operating within it.'

"The Used LCV Market Report 2010", published by BCA and written by Professor Peter Cooke and the team at the Centre for Automotive Management, University of Buckingham is available as a free-of-charge PDF download from both the BCA (www.british-car-auctions.co.uk) and University of Buckingham (www.buckingham.ac.uk) websites.