The first signs of the impact of the pandemic on the used fleet car sector have been revealed in new figures on wholesale prices.

Autorola said the most noticeable trend is how the average age and mileage of the stock has dramatically changed from Q1 2022 to the end of April

With many vehicles lying dormant in the early stages of the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, the UK’s fleet management and leasing firms provided lifelines by offering car and van contract extensions. A webinar held by the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) in July 2020 found 42% of fleets planned to extend their leases or stop ordering, in response to economic uncertainty and the need to cut costs.

But new data from Autorola shows that wholesale prices are now being impacted on the back of the increased age and mileage profiles.

Its figures for April reveal that after the new 22-plate cars hit the road, the volume of used fleet and dealer cars uploaded to its online portal has increased.

But the most noticeable trend is how the average age and mileage of the stock has dramatically changed from Q1 2022 to the end of April.

Used petrol and diesel cars were hardest hit. The average age of used petrol and diesels increased by five and eight months respectively to 40 and 43 months from Q1 to the end of April. Average petrol mileages also increased by 17.5% from 17,987 to 21,141 miles and diesels by 17.8% from 25,718 to 30,303 miles.

And this led average prices to fall in April – petrols by £1,918 (11.6%) to £14,514 and diesels by £2,271 (10.9%) to £18,398.

Jon Mitchell, Autorola’s group sales director, said: “We have seen the 243,479 22-plate new car deliveries from March flush used stock into the market which is great news. However, it is obvious that the contract extensions caused by the pandemic have dramatically changed the profile of both fleet and dealer part exchanges coming into the market.

“This trend was coming but it’s happened surprisingly quickly after the March plate change.”

The trend was also seen among hybrids, which went from an average age of 29 months to 33 months from Q1 to April while mileages were stable at 19,100 miles. However, prices have risen by 13.5% (£2,799).

But for EVs, the average age fell from 19 to 17 months and mileages from 11,164 in Q1 to 8,180 miles in April. However, rather than prices rising they have fallen by £2,242 (8.4%) to £26,546.

Last month saw fleet management software specialist FleetCheck say that extensions forced on fleets by both the pandemic and much-delayed order times for new vehicles have probably changed company car and van replacement cycles forever.

Its data reveals that around a year has been added on average across the board to fleet cycles – which previously stood at 3-4 years for cars and 4-5 years for vans.

And such extensions are not being viewed as a one-off, but rather a longer-term switch, according to Peter Golding, managing director.

He also advised that there were two key areas for businesses to consider when looking at the potential for permanent extensions – maintenance and human resources (HR).

“The maintenance aspect applies to any replacement cycle,” outlined Golding. “The longer you operate a vehicle, the more potential there is for things to go wrong. This means that your service and maintenance policies need to be watertight.”

While the HR angle is very particular to each employer, FleetCheck pointed out that in some industries and some job roles, it is very much expected that a new car will be provided every three years.

“At a time when recruitment and retention is markedly difficult, this is a genuine issue,” Golding stressed.