FLEETS are being urged to target their market when disposing of liquefied petroleum gas vehicles to ensure the best residual values. Jonathan Murray, programme manager of Powershift, said the majority of Powershift grants had been for vehicles which were between two to five years old, illustrating that there is a market for older converted vehicles as well as new vehicles.

He said: 'Vehicles should be disposed of in a sensible way to ensure they get to the people who demand these types of vehicles.' Ramesh Notra, senior economist with CAP Motor Research, said the theory of targeting markets for disposals was true for all vehicles and is nothing new. He said: 'There haven't been that many LPG vehicles disposed yet but those which have sold tend to be around a year old that are supported by the novelty factor and achieve values in line with petrol equivalents in terms of pounds but not percentage.'

Residual value comparisons over three years/60,000 miles show that a Vauxhall Omega 2.0i 16v GLS 4dr A/C bifuel will be worth £5,325 (25%) according to CAP and Glass's Guide. Its petrol counterpart is £5,505 (29%) according to CAP and £5,625 (28%) according to Glass's. Similarly a bifuel Volvo S70 140bhp auto is estimated at £6,500 (28%) by CAP and £7,675 (33%) by Glass's. Its petrol equivalent is £6,950 (34%) according to CAP and £7,975 (37.1%) according to Glass's.