Volkswagen-Startup Direct City office van

Volkswagen converts Transporters into startup office space

According to research commissioned by Volkswagen from the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR), van dependent businesses contributed £120bn to the UK economy and travelled almost 102bn kilometres in 2014 alone.

Apparently, the number of registered commercial vehicles in the UK has risen by 400% since 2009, suggesting that the economic recovery has triggered a big surge in demand for goods and services delivered by van.

There’s also been a big shift to self employment. According to the CEBR, there’s been a 17.5% rise in self employment since 2009. One million new businesses have registered over that period. By 2017, the CEBR expects there to be 11.7m start-up businesses in the UK — including 3.4m “pop-up experiences”.

In an interesting new partnership, Volkswagen has joined forces with start-up loan specialists Startup Direct to offer its network of businesses hot-desking space in two uniquely designed sixth-generation Transporter vans.

Startup Direct Volkswagen office van

Startup Direct’s ‘City Office’ van — a converted VW Transporter T6

One is designed as a ‘Creative Hub’ complete with grass carpet and woodland to give the perfect ambience for brain-storming and idea generation. A whiteboard, beanbags and funky accessories complete the experience.

Volkswagen-Startup Direct Creative Hub

The second, installed in a high-roof Transporter, is the ‘Power Office’: views of the City, leather chairs and a wooden desk allow any aspiring CEO to live the executive life – in the back of a van.

Volkswagen-Startup Direct City office van

Commenting on the research and event, Carl zu Dohna, Director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles said:

“Commercial vehicles play a huge role in start-up and small businesses and we’re proud to supply the future drivers of British business with vehicles that help to deliver their goods and services.

“We admire the entrepreneurial minds of those in the UK who have continued to take risks and challenged traditional business industries in establishing exciting and forward-thinking new start-ups that use our vehicles. We know office space can often be at a premium; by working with Startup Direct we intend to offer individuals and businesses unique working spaces to inspire them.”

I’m not sure how many board meetings I’d want to attend in a van, but I suspect these promotional vehicles will help to reinforce the Volkswagen Transporter’s enviable image as the coolest and most adaptable medium van on the market.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.