Many auto auctioneers are setting up such van & truck actions in response to accommodating an increasing number of vans and trucks going to auctions.
The growth of auctioned trucks and vans in due to the increase of trade-ins of used vehicles at dealers as truck users rush to get new vehicles to meet stricter emission regulations from last year.
The move is especially prominent in rural areas in Japan.
The increase in transportation due to the recovered economy also helped the growing demand for used trucks.
On the other hand, lots of used trucks are exported to overseas markets as the demand for Japanese used trucks is very strong there.
Auctioneers admit that they can have a variety of vehicles at their auctions when they add vans and trucks to the lineup.
Both buyers and sellers welcome the move.
Aucually, specialist auctions of vans and trucks, including the Arai Oyama Van & Truck Auction and Isuzu MOtor Auction, have dramatically grown in recent years.
In 2006, Arai Oyama V&T achieved a 19% increase of consigned vehicles, while three Isuzu Motor Auction sites showed a 22% increase in the combined number of consigned vehicles.
However, ”we cannot rely on such special demand for a long time, ”cautioned a truck trader. Truck manufacturers foresee sales decreasing in 2007 due to the rebound of replacement demand which occurred last year. Instead, they are aiming to recover the decrease by expnading oversea sales.
The cost of buying secondhand cars has plummeted over the last 12 months, with new research revealing prices have fallen by more than 10%. Since June 2002, the value of nearly new cars has dropped by 11.4% and used cars - those at least three years old - by 13.5%.
According to the figures from the Alliance & Leicester bank and What Car? Magazine there is now a ”glut” of cars on the secondhand car market.
The car price index also revealed that new car prices fell by 1.2% in June 2003 compared with the same time last year.
According to a document prepared by the Independent Motor Vehicle Dealers Association (IMVDA).
New Zealand Government is planning to restrict the importation of used vehicles beginning from 2008 to reduce exhaust emissions from old vehicles.
As for gasoline-powered vehicles, the Government plans to introduce, from 2008, the same emission standards which were previously introduced to Japan in 2000.
For diesel-powered vehicles, it will introduce the 2002 Japanese emission standards to New Zealand in 2009.
New Zealand Cabinet already agreed that the Ministry of Transoprt cnsults on the above-mentioned scheme.
Used vehicle registrations for January 2007 numbered 306,966 units, down 7.9% from a year earlier.
This is the 10th consecutive month of year-on-year decrease.
The January total was made up of 120,807 midsize & large-size cars, down 5.5%, 142,554 small cars, down 8.7%, 14,421 heavy and medium-duty trucks, down 10.3%, 20,196 light trucks, off 14.1%, 1,451 buses, up 29.1%, and 6.918 special purpose vehicles, down 14.8%.
