It’s April — and that means its CV Show time. The CV Show 2015 has been bigger and better than ever, and does seem to suggest that the economy really is recovering — this year’s bustling show seems a far cry from 2009, when the CV Show was cancelled after virtually all the manufacturers pulled out…

Anyway, in the spirit of a picture being worth a thousand words, here is my pictorial round-up of the van-related highlights of this year’s show.

I reckon there’s something for everyone, including a few celebrities who proved popular at the show…

(Here are links to my previous years’ reviews: 2012, 2013 & 2014).

To kick things off, Ford’s golden Transit was on display to mark the Transit’s 50th birthday — on average, someone has bought a Transit-badged van once every 180 seconds for the last 50 years. That’s quite an achievement:

Not to be outdone by their Dagenham rivals, Luton-based Vauxhall made the most of their England football team sponsorship by scoring several top names of yesteryear to front up their stand:

Bryan Robson proved popular… as did Peter Shilton:

Staying with Vauxhall for a moment, the firm’s Movano hi-cube removal van was in evidence. This is a Trucksmith Kneehi conversion that’s available from Vauxhall dealers as an approved conversion:

Vauxhall also ensured that a BT Openreach-liveried Vivaro was on display, proving to the industry that BT doesn’t only buy Transits, despite BT’s recent order for 1,000 new Transit and Transit Custom vans:

Rather more exciting was the presence of Countdown star Rachel Riley on the Dacia stand, helping CV Show visitors Do the maths and recognise how cheap Dacia’s are to buy and run:

Ms Riley was, of course, at the show to promote Dacia’s newly-launched (in the UK) Duster Commercial van model, which was only announced a few days ago, but now gives operators a cheap alternative to the Mitsubishi Outlander 4Work:

Let’s pause now for a look at two very different trucks, that between them, perhaps, tell a story about how the world has changed over the last fifty years.

First up, this vintage British-built Foden, beautifully preserved, but representing a brand that just couldn’t survive in the 21st century:

On the other hand, I’m pretty certain we’re going to see more Chinese-built vehicles on our roads in the next decade. Chinese car manufacturer Great Wall is steadily gaining acceptance for its value pick-up, the Steed, and I suspect that Sinotruck, shown here, could be next.

A new brand to the UK, but this Sinotruck mixer could be coming to a building site near you quite soon:

Getting back to the vans, Rossetts Commercials had this terrific 6×6 Sprinter eye candy on its stall. I wrote about these German Oberaigner conversions recently — for anyone with the right requirements, they really are the dogs’ dangly bits…

After a quick pitstop in one of Cartwright’s rather swish welfare van conversions…

… Renault’s Master-based food truck conversion was ready with some snacks — this is a conversion that can be ordered at a Renault dealer and provided by one of the firm’s approved converters:

As it’s getting towards home time, a look at Cartwright’s latest supermarket home delivery conversion might be in order. Naturally, it’s based on a Sprinter:

The Iveco Vision Concept van made an appearance — and raised some eyebrows, but in many ways it’s easy to see the links between current models and this concept, in my view:

Another interesting and unusual offering was the Strongs Plastics Products body fitted to an Isuzu D-Max pick-up. That tipping body is all plastic, you know:

Nearing the end now, a Volkswagen Crafter fitted with a selection of Penny Hydraulics cranes looked like a versatile, if specialist, model (obviously you wouldn’t normally have more than one per vehicle):

The new Vauxhall Corsavan maintains the sporty look that’s become de rigeur for these small vans (click here for the launch report and here for my review of the new Corsa):

Meanwhile the new version of the Fiat Doblo Work Up looked as odd as the previous model, but remains a practical, useful model for niche markets such as (perhaps?) urban landscape gardeners:

This Fiat Ducato Sportivo, on the other hand, looked pretty smart:

Finally, let’s head off road (gently) for the close, with the new Peugeot Expert ATV, which uses the PSA Grip Control system — basically a more sophisticated form of ESP traction control — to provide a useful level of ability off-road and on slippery surfaces:

Thanks for watching, that’s it for this year — roll on 2016.