Car price guide Parker’s has reported “no demand” among used car
buyers for petrol 4x4s, especially with V8 engines. Owners of 4x4s
are said to be having difficulty entering part exchange schemes,
dealers being unwilling to take on the fuel-hungry vehicles as
their devaluation continues.
Kieren Puffett, editor of Parker’s, predicted that the 4×4
market would stabilise, but added that when it did, “large 4x4s
with petrol engines will be worth substantially less”.
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The issues at hand, unsurprisingly, are fuel consumption and the
changing Vehicle Excise Duty (VED): even if auctioned at reduced
price, Parker’s claimed buyers would have no interest in buying
such high-maintenance cars, which can cost over £100 to refuel and
£450 a year in VED.
Director of the National Franchised Dealers Association, Sue
Robinson agreed with this prognosis, but downplayed fears of
dealers refusing part exchange as a blanket policy: “This is not a
new practice, it is something that has occurred for many years as
dealers endeavour to hold their optimum stock.”
Target emergency vehicle fleets
In response to the situation, industry consultancy Network
Automotive suggested a “back to basics” approach to falling sales,
focusing on the resilience and power of 4x4s as a means of
promoting them to specialist fleet markets such as the emergency
services.
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By GlobalDataManaging director Colin Bruder explained: “Here, the demand for
this kind of vehicle is consistent and largely credit crunch-proof.
Selling into these sectors is a matter of having the necessary
expertise, knowing where to find out about tenders and entering
bids that stand the best possible change of success.”
Bruder said that specialist fleet interest in 4x4s had slackened
in recent years due to heavy retail demand acting “as something of
a distraction”, but added: “With retail demand starting to plateau
and probably slide in the coming months and years, we believe that
there is potential for manufacturers and dealers to maximise large
4×4 sales opportunities through this route.”
Fred Crawley
Motor Finance Issue: 45 – July 08
Published for the web: July 28 08 11:0
Last Updated: July 28 08 12:22
