Volkswagen has secured a deal to provide North Lanarkshire Council with 224 commercial vehicles. The new agreement will see Volkswagen supply nearly 45% of the council’s 500-strong fleet of vans and will include a combination of Caddy, Transporter and Crafter models.
Volkswagen supplies 224 new vans to North Lanarkshire Council
Past experience and an excellent reputation helped Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles secure the deal. The council’s procurement team also considered the excellent reliability, attractive service, maintenance and whole life costs when choosing a fleet partner.
Other operational benefits for the council include a range of quiet, fuel-efficient engines with low CO2 emissions, which help cut fuel costs and reduce the fleet’s impact on the environment.
The deal, which comprises Crafter, Transporter and Caddy panel vans, will also include a Crafter Luton van with built-in tail lift from Volkswagen’s Engineered-to-Go scheme.
Kenneth Wilson, Head of Land Services at North Lanarkshire Council, said:
“We needed to replace a significant proportion of our van fleet in line with our vehicle replacement programme, and I’m pleased to say that Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has been successful in winning the majority of the business.
“What tipped the balance in their favour is the fact that their products are so flexible in terms of allowing us to customise them to meet our needs. Similarly, they have extremely strong residual values compared to the rest of the market, which mean the vans are very good value for us.
“The Volkswagen vans that have arrived so far have been a welcome addition to the fleet and feedback from our drivers has been very positive.”
Alastair Hemmings, National Fleet Manager at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK, added:
“We are delighted that North Lanarkshire Council has decided to convert nearly half of its fleet to Volkswagen after trialling a small number of our vans. The power of our residual values means we are highly competitive and able to offer our customers outstanding value for money.”
It’s good to know that even in today’s price comparison age (guilty as charged, m’lud), if you get your marketing, brand image and product quality right, you don’t have to be the cheapest in order to do well.