THE VANS DRIVING BRITAIN: THE UK VAN INDEX

• Van buyers looking for a bargain should head to Glasgow where prices are lowest on average (2.4 per cent lower than the national index)
• Plymouth is currently the city in the UK with the highest average prices for a used van (prices 4.2 per cent higher than the national index)
• Plymouth also has the highest number of searches and customer leads for vans in the UK (3.4 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively)
• The Ford Transit van is most searched for van with double the amount of searches than the runner up, the Mercedes-Benz Vito which is closely followed by the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

London, UK, 19 April 2018 - New data from leading automotive shopping site, CarGurus, reveals the most affordable and most expensive cities across the nation to purchase a used van. The study analysed the nine most common models of vans* on the site and found that Glasgow is the best place to bag a bargain, with average prices 2.4 per cent lower than the national index. Plymouth ranked as the most expensive city according to the study, where prices are 4.2 per cent higher than the national index.

For motorists who are unable to make the trip up to Scotland, Sheffield, Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent are the next most affordable towns for van shopping, where average prices are 1.8 to 1.9 per cent lower than the national index.

The Five Cities with the Lowest Average Van Prices

City / Percentage below the national index*:

Glasgow -2.4%
Edinburgh -2.2%
Sheffield -1.9%
Manchester -1.9%
Stoke-on-Trent -1.8%

The data also shows that Plymouth is the most expensive place in the UK to buy a used van. Wales and the south west of England are well represented in this list, with Cardiff, Swansea and Bristol also appearing the top five most expensive cities for vans. Belfast comes in at number two, with vans in the capital of Northern Ireland costing around 3.7% more than the national average.

The Five Cities with the Highest Average Van Prices

City / Percentage above the national index*:

Plymouth 4.2%
Belfast 3.7%
Cardiff 2.5%
Swansea 2.4%
Bristol 2.2%

CarGurus' lowest and highest average price rankings are based on aggregated data for each local market and there are many examples of savings opportunities on specific models.

A Ford Transit van for example is 6.96 per cent lower than the national index in Glasgow at £8,620, compared to 2.91 per cent above the national index in Cardiff at £9,437. In addition to this, a good deal on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter would cost locals from Bradford £11,519 (4.74 per cent below the national index) compared to those living in London who would pay £12,265 (1.43 per cent above the national index).
There are some interesting regional angles to the data, for example, Plymouth is the town in the UK where vans are searched for the most. The town accounts for 3.44 per cent of all van searches throughout the UK made on CarGurus, with searches for the VW Transporter being particularly high. This data suggests there could be a wider lifestyle trend amongst tradesmen and surfers driving vans in this region of the UK, and so it's plausible to conclude that this popularity of vans in the south west is inflating van prices and demand.

While searches and customer leads are highest in Plymouth, it's Bradford that has the biggest stock of used vans available (4.23 per cent of all inventory nationwide), followed by Cardiff (4.21 per cent) and Sheffield (3.53 per cent).

James Drake, spokesperson for CarGurus comments:

"This is a really interesting set of data and will be useful for anyone thinking about buying a used van. Consumers will see that it really is supply and demand that drives vehicle pricing, as demonstrated in the bigger Northern and Scottish cities where dealers hold a high level of stock and prices remain below national average.

"We were particularly interested in Plymouth which turns out to be a real hotspot for vans. Not only are vans in high demand, possibly driven by tradesmen and outdoor lifestyle of the South West, but supply is relatively short and the city has an enormous catchment area. This means that van prices have been pushed up above the national average."

The data from CarGurus also reveals the most popular vans in the UK, based on share of search volume:

The UK's most popular vans:

Model / Average Price on CarGurus :

Ford Transit £9,171
Mercedes-Benz Vito £12,812
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter £12,093
Fiat Ducato £19,116
Ford Transit Custom £12,999

Visit CarGurus at www.cargurus.co.uk.
-ENDS-

*Common vans listed on the site include:
+ Fiat Ducato
+ Ford Transit
+ Ford Transit Custom
+ Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
+ Mercedes-Benz Vito
+ Peugeot Boxer
+ Renault Trafic
+ Vauxhall Vivaro
+ Volkswagen Transporter

About CarGurus

Founded in 2006, CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) is a global, online automotive marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of new and used cars. The company uses proprietary technology, search algorithms and data analytics to bring trust and transparency to the automotive search experience and help users find great deals from top-rated dealers. The company operates online marketplaces in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany. To learn more about CarGurus, visit www.cargurus.co.uk.

About CarGurus IMV

CarGurus uses mathematical models to compare and analyse thousands of used car listings across the UK and help shoppers find great deals from top-rated near them. The CarGurus algorithm looks at a range of vehicle attributes to establish its IMV (Instant Market Value). The IMV is deemed to be the fair market price for this vehicle, against which CarGurus can benchmark the price that the dealer is charging.

About the Research

To produce the data in this release, CarGurus analysts compared the difference between the list prices of all comparable vans listed on CarGurus in eighteen of the largest UK towns and cities (model years 2001-2016) against the national average/IMV. The difference for each vehicle has then been averaged across each town or city, resulting in a single percentage that represents the average price over or above the IMV in a specific location. A city/town area was defined as a 50-mile radius around the named city.