Fiat Fiorino

Silver is the new white with volumes jumping by over 5% since 2008

Interestingly, the latest quarterly road traffic stats from the Department for Transport actually show that the number of miles driven by light goods vehicles – typically white vans – has increased by 5.1%, which suggests that tradesmen have been quiet during the recession and have simply kept their vans on the drive.

Davis said: “These traffic figures are really interesting and do suggest that there’s more to the apparent lack of white vans on our roads than meets the eye.

New_Ford_Transit_review

Some colours are instantly associated with well known brands; see a red van and who do you think of?

“It is probably a mixture of marginally falling sales, an increase on other colour vans such as silver and the impact of the downturn that has created the impression that the classic white van is on the wane.”

Manheim also highlights the role colour can play in the used wholesale market.

Davis continues: “It’s common for retail buyers to associate colour with well-known and instantly recognisable household names.

“These customer facing van fleets operate in the full visibility of communities across the UK. Take The AA, British Gas, RAC and Royal Mail. Used buyers recognise this “corporate uniform” and assign a value in terms of a positive perception about the quality of these vans and their provenance.

“That’s not to say white vans are worth less; condition is key and impacts values more than colour in isolation.”

Manheim is the biggest global player in vehicle remarketing and it has auction houses all around the UK.

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