The average price of ex-fleet vehicles rose in January compared to the previous month, while part-ex values fell slightly, according to remarketer Manheim.

Values in the de-fleet sector rose to a seven-month high of £7,358 in January, an increase of £665 (9.9%) compared to December 2014.

According to the report, the rise in price was fuelled by a drop in average age and mileage of vehicles. Average age dropped from 53 months in December to 48 months in January and average mileage decreased by 1,899 month-on-month to 59,575 miles.

A slight fall of 3.5% in the average value of part-ex vehicles occurred in January compared to the previous month.

Prices achieved for used cars of this category stood at £3,268 last month. This marginal decrease was in line with slight increases in both average age (to 103 months) and mileage (to 79,316) during the month.

Darren Wiseman, valuation services manager at Manheim, said: "January’s figures reveal a largely consistent month for dealers, in spite of the small decrease in overall value. I said last month that the first six weeks of the New Year are traditionally the busiest for auctions and that’s no different in 2015.

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"The challenge currently facing dealers is ensuring they accurately match demand with supply. It might still be freezing outside, but clever buyers are already looking to snap-up vehicle bargains better suited to summer driving. As we saw this month, the Coupe witnessed the largest value increase over January and I’d expect that trend to continue as we edge towards the warmer weather."