Price rises expected for popular fleet cars and vans

A RISE in prices of a range of popular fleet cars and vans is “almost inevitable” over the next few months.

Andy Kirby, Customer Success Director at FleetCheck, said that a range of factors from rising raw material costs to much slowed production would all create upwards pressure.

He said: “Through our sister company, Fleetfind, we help our client base source vehicles, and there is no question in our mind that prices will increase and potentially not by just a few percentage points.

“Manufacturers are in a position where the prices of the raw materials they use have risen rapidly in the wake of the pandemic while, at the same time, production numbers are being restricted, largely by semiconductor shortages.

“This can mean only one thing for prices and it is notable that, with long lead times being quoted on most models at the moment, that few suppliers will guarantee prices in advance.

“The question is now how fleets and their drivers react to these prices rises over the next few months and whether there are any ongoing impacts.”

Kirby said that potential effects could range from downsizing to longer replacement cycles.

“It’s too early to see what fleets will do but there are a number of courses of action that they could take. The simplest one is to just bite bullet and pay the higher price or increased lease rate, and no doubt many will do this.

“However, others will no doubt make an attempt at controlling costs and there are a number of options open to them, from redrawing choice lists in favour of lower-cost models to keeping cars and vans for longer in order to spread the cost.

“All of this is complicated, of course, by the ongoing electrification trend. In normal times, the buoyant used car market would potentially be offsetting price increases through higher residual value forecasts, but the rise of the EV is making predictions harder.”