Manheim is predicting an increase of up to 20% in vehicle supply to the UK wholesale market during the next six weeks.

The remarketing company believes the rise will be fuelled by the increase in defleeted company cars and the seasonal influx in part-exchanges, following the September plate change. It will mean a softening of values before Christmas.

Manheim has been preparing for the surge with extra investments in people, infrastructure and systems to manage the increase in vehicle volumes.

Chris Cush, operations director at Manheim, said: "Good business practice is all about understanding where the market is going and changing your operation to suit.

“That is precisely what we have been doing over the past year. While we are investing heavily to maintain customer satisfaction and speed of sale in our business, and industry leading RVs for customers, we can't deny the laws of supply and demand that will surely see values soften as we approach Christmas."