PRESS RELEASE

25^thAUGUST 2016

Fleets "hanging onto" cars and vans

is causing market distortion

Inaccurate price guides contributing to current problem, say Glass's

Fleets "hanging onto" cars and vans in an attempt to achieve unrealistic and inflated valuations are causing distortions in the used car and van markets, say Glass's.

Reluctance to sell below these guide prices, and continually resubmitting vehicles for sale at the same or other auctions, creates a range of problems, said Rupert Pontin, director of valuations.

He explained: "Lately, we are going through a phase where we see the same cars and vans presented at auction time and again - and our feedback says that failure to reach book values is the reason.

"With some of the industry price guides consistently overvaluing the market in recent months, it appears to be becoming an increasing problem. Large numbers of vehicles are remaining unsold.

"Firstly, this means businesses are holding onto vehicles much longer than they should, so are taking longer to convert valuable assets into cash. Also, while they remain on the books, the value of these cars and vans nearly always tend to continue falling, leading to a double loss."

Rupert added that the trend also made it difficult for market experts such as Glass's to work out exactly what was happening to the value of certain models.

"A particular car or van may look like it is doing quite well but then it becomes apparent that this was due to fleets holding onto stock in an attempt to reach unrealistic guide prices. Eventually, these cars have to be ‘dumped' onto the market and you see a sudden fall in values as oversupply occurs.

"I'm pleased to say that, in the vast majority of cases, we have identified where this is happening and adjusted our own valuations accordingly, but not everyone in the market can reflect accurate values as swiftly as we can."

About Glass's

Glass's is the largest vehicle data provider in Europe, offering products and solutions that are invaluable at every stage of a vehicle's lifecycle. These include key valuation, technical and fleet management data, estimating, bodyshop and dealer management systems and web-based services. Founded in 1933 by William Glass, the first Glass's Guide to Car Values - widely referred to as the used car dealer's bible - was published in July of that year.

For further details:

• Sanjay Mistry, Paperchase PR, 07810 368 772, sanjay@paperchasepr.co.uk

• Simon Wells, Paperchase PR, 07768 912 430, simon@paperchasepr.co.uk

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