Author Archives: Van Rental

Tyre Vans’ Tough Life Show Why Sprinter Is Hire Company Favourite

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Lodge Tyres Mercedes-Benz SprinterDespite this best efforts of Mercedes-Benz competitors, the Sprinter remains the most popular large van with most drivers and van operators in the UK and in many European countries.

Hire companies — especially those which serve demanding business customers — buy Sprinters by the hundred, as do courier firms and other companies that need their vans to be able to shrug off tough use, day-in, day-out.

One example is Lodge Tyres, which operates a fleet of 90 vans across the Midlands, providing a 24-hour mobile tyre replacement service for many of the region’s largest haulage operators. Lodge recently purchased an additional six medium-wheelbase 313CDI BlueEfficiency Sprinters, and is currently awaiting an order for a further six.

The firm’s fleet is dominated by Sprinters, and the vans stay on the fleet for five years, by which time they have done around 250,000 miles, including a fair amount of off-road site work. Martyn Lodge, who is the financial director of the family firm, says that the firm’s decision to stay loyal to Sprinters was simple:

“When we stand down our vans after a five-year life they’ve often covered 250,000 miles or more but invariably they’re still running well, and because of that they still command a strong resale value. Operating costs over that sort of lifespan are extremely competitive, largely because they just don’t break down.”

“The Sprinters are also very well-liked by our drivers, not only for their comfortable cabs but also because they’re the safest vans on the road.”

Although Sprinters aren’t the cheapest vans to buy upfront, their strong residual values, high build quality and unique driver and operator appeal mean that they are likely to cause less stress and have lower ownership costs than some cheaper alternative, especially in demanding operations.

Stratford-upon-Avon Van Hire: ESD Self Drive Hire

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ESD Self Drive Van HireI’m very pleased to welcome our newest advertiser, ESD Self Drive Hire of Stratford-upon-Avon and Evesham, to vanrental.co.uk.

ESD offers a range of vans, minibuses and cars for hire, including:

  • SWB medium panel vans
  • Large panel vans
  • Luton vans
  • 15 and 17-seater minibuses
  • A range of cars and MPVs

The firm has two branches, in Evesham and Stratford upon Avon:

  • ESD Evesham: Blackminster Business Park, Birmingham Road, WR11 7TD
  • ESD Stratford upon Avon (newly opened September 2013): Western Road, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 0AH

ESD’s standard rates include 24-hour hire from 8am-8am, insurance, RAC breakdown cover, unlimited UK mileage and free additional drivers (unlike many competitors). Out-of-hours drop off is available and there is free car parking next door to ESD’s premises. The firm can also offer delivery and collection services, if visiting the branch isn’t convenient.

ESD offers a range of additional services at extra cost, including overseas/European hire, child seat and sat nav hire and sack truck hire, and can also offer discounted rates for long-term hire deals.

For full details of ESD’s branch locations, visit our Evesham and Stratford upon Avon pages.

If you’d like to advertise your van or minibus hire business on vanrental.co.uk, click here to take a look at our advertising page, for full details of what we can offer.

Nissan Delivers NV200 Vans For Bridgestone-Ulsterbus Tyre Contract

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Nissan NV200 Bridgestone-Ulsterbus

One of Bridgestone’s Nissan NV200 vans, which will be used to service a new tyre contract with Ulsterbus.

Nissan has continued to make inroads into the UK fleet market with a new deal to supply seven tyre maintenance vans to Japanese tyre giant Bridgestone, to service a new Bridgestone contact with Ulsterbus, which operates bus services all over Northern Ireland.

The initial order comprises seven Nissan NV200 vans that will be used across the entirety of Northern Ireland. Each van, driven by trained Bridgestone tyre technicians, contains state-of-the-art equipment that will allow them to conduct portable tyre inspections on Ulsterbus buses from any remote location.

Technicians will also be moving tyres and fitting equipment to the Ulsterbus fleet using their vans as mobile service units. Each Bridgestone-liveried Nissan NV200 is expected to cover 20,000 miles a year and will be fitted with internal plylining to increase its durability.

Feedback from Bridgestone drivers has already been positive with the NV200 praised for its spacious load capacity and driver comfort over long distances.

Nichola Randall, Bridgestone fleet manager said:

“The initial driver response to the new vans has been great. With a combination of strong and reliable performance and generous storage space, our technicians will be able to deliver an efficient and high quality service to Ulsterbus across the country.”

Van Registrations Up 10.3% In September – SMMT

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After rising by 11.1% in August, new van registrations rose by 10.3% in September, compared to September 2012, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT). The increase means that van sales are up by 9.6% on the year-to-date.

Truck registrations haven’t fared so well this year, but did rise by 29.7% last month, making me wonder whether truck operators are more prone to plate-change vanity than I would expect! The gain leaves truck registrations down by just 0.1% so far this year, compared to the first nine months of last year.

UK van and truck registrations: 2013 and % change on 2012

September % change Year-to-date % change Rolling year % change
Vans 43,066 10.3% 205,004 9.6% 257,578 4.1%
Trucks 6,131 29.7% 34,352 -0.1% 45,683 -4.2%
Total 49,197 12.4% 239,356 8.1% 303,261 2.7%

Data courtesy of Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (www.smmt.co.uk)

Commenting on the figures, Mike Hawes, who is the SMMT’s chief executive, said that he believes that upcoming Euro 6 emissions legislation for trucks may have played a role in September’s surge in sales:

“Commercial vehicle registrations rose 12.4% in September, with greater confidence and impending Euro 6 legislation producing a strong recovery in truck volumes,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive.

“Encouragingly, van registration levels have stabilised, up around 10% in the month and year-to-date, after a variable year that reacted to model changes and changeable market conditions. Year-to-date truck demand is back to 2012 levels after a slow start to the year and we expect the last quarter to be very strong for the sector.”

The graph below shows how sales have picked up over the summer:

SMMT van and truck registrations Dec 09 - Sept 13

Heavy demand

SMMT divides CV sales into three categories — vans under 3.5t, rigids, and artics. In each of these categories, registration growth was strongest in the heaviest weight category, in numerical terms.

That means that new registrations of vans between 2.5t and 3.5t, rigids over 16t, and 3-axle artics rose strongly last month, suggesting that those sectors of the economy that control the majority of usage of these vehicles (retail, construction and industry) have enough confidence to invest in fleet renewals.

Given that September’s plate change is often linked to a surge in sales, it will be interesting to see if the upwards momentum in registrations carries on through October.

Ideal Car Hire Launches London Van Hire Service

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vanrental.co.uk vanLondon car rental firm Ideal Car Hire has built its reputation providing car hire to London residents and tourists, but the firm has now decided to capitalise on strong demand for rental vans in the capital by launching its own van hire service.

Vans are available to hire at Ideal’s Stoke Newington and Kings Cross branches, and the company has decided to launch with three types of van:

  • Compact van (e.g. Nissan NV200)
  • Medium van (e.g. Ford Transit SWB)
  • Long wheelbase van (e.g. Nissan NV400)

Ideal Car Hire also offers long-term rental deals on its cars and vans (a topic I recently looked at here), through its 28 day+ service, which only requires 28 days’ commitment and includes 2,000 miles per month, free delivery and collection, breakdown cover and monthly billing. Extras such as sat nav hire, child seats, additional insurance and roof racks are also available for most vehicles, regardless of hire length.

Ideal’s decision to offer van indicates that it wants to broaden its customer base and reduce its dependency on the tourist market, which is a key part of its car business. Although the firm only has two branches, it does offer a delivery and collection service within the M25, that’s free for hires over 7 days and costs just £10 each way for shorter hires.

Ford Transit Custom With High Roof Goes On Sale

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Ford Transit Custom High RoofThe new Ford Transit Custom is a fine van that’s only been missing one thing — the option of a high roof. That omission has now been addressed, and a high-roof Transit Custom model is now available for sale in the UK.

The new model retains the choice of short and long wheelbases and different engine power levels, and offers 20 per cent more space than the standard roof, taking the cubic capacity to 8.3 cubic metres.

Load height increases by 370mm to 1.78m, and the new high roof has an all-steel construction that allows for a 100kg roof rack load and costs just £500 extra, making it something of a no brainer.

Load space features that debuted in the standard roof model are all present and correct in the high roof van, including the load-through hatch in the bulkhead that allows loads of up to 3m in length to be carried, as well as side-mountede tie-down hooks, and LED loadspace lighting.

Ford says that it has sold more than 6,000 Transit Customs in the UK since the model’s launch in December, which suggests that the model is still getting a foothold in the market, but sales should rise as more variants become available. The high roof model should open up the Transit Custom to a range of new customers who would previously have purchased the standard Transit with a medium-height roof, which is a popular choice — although strangely, you see very few Transporter, Vivaro and Vito high roof models, even though these are available as factory options.

The Transit Custom remains the only van in its segment to have achieved a maximum five-star Euro NCAP safety rating and buyers of the high-roof model can also choose to include the advanced safety features that helped it earn this accolade, including SYNC with Emergency Assistance, Rear View Camera, Acceleration Control, Lane Keeping Alert and Driver Alert.

Citroën Berlingo Spices Up Schwartz Merchandising Fleet

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Citroen Berlingo operated by Schwartz

One of 232 new Citroen Berlingo vans purchased by herb and spice company Schwartz for its UK merchandising operations.

Schwartz, the UK’s best-known herbs and spices brand, has just taken delivery of 232 Citroën Berlingo HDi Crew Vans. The Berlingos will be used by its nationwide team of Retail Sales Merchandisers and Field Support Merchandisers.

In addition to the Berlingo Crew Van’s high level of standard equipment, Schwartz has specified air conditioning and metallic paint in Artic Steel or Shark Grey.

Schwartz has also upgraded the Berlingo’s standard Trafficmaster telematics platform – which includes Smartnav satellite navigation and Trackstar stolen vehicle tracking – to include Fleet Director, which is an optional real time fleet management package.

Tracey Hoare, Schwartz Field Support Manager, commented:

“After an intense, two-year vehicle evaluation process, we decided that the Berlingo Crew Van provided the optimum combination of required operational benefits. These included improved load security and increased load space to allow for seasonal peaks, lower running costs and the ability for our drivers to carry their friends and families out of hours.”

The Berlingo Crew Vans were handed over to the Schwartz Retail Merchandise Team at 13 different UK locations enabling each driver to have a full demonstration of the Berlingo Crew Vans’ many features and to learn how to get full benefit from the advanced Trafficmaster telematics system.

Supplied by dealer Citroën London West, the Schwartz order is one of the largest placed for the 5-seat Citroën Berlingo Crew Vans. They are being operated on Lex Autolease two-year, with maintenance, contract hire agreements. Mileages vary from 13,500 to 23,500 miles per annum, dependent on the location of the Schwartz Retail Merchandise operative’s area.

Martin Hamill, Citroën’s Fleet Director explained:

“We are delighted to be supplying Schwartz, the nations’ favourite herb and spice company, with Berlingo Crew Vans. These vans offer the Schwartz Retail Merchandise team the flexibility of being able to use their vehicles 7-days a week, with the added benefit of much lower Benefit In Kind tax liability than their previous MPVs.”

Schwartz, owned by McCormick and Company Incorporated, is the world’s largest producer of herbs and spices.  The company supplies retail outlets, food manufacturers and food service businesses, with herbs, spices, seasonings and flavourings.

Each Schwartz Retail Sales Merchandiser has their own dedicated area in which to build customer relationships through regular visits; taking orders, delivering stock, replenishing the herb and spice displays within the store and altering the product offering, depending on seasonal variations.

Toyota Proace Is First Choice For Toyota Forklift Service Fleet

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A Toyota Material Handling UK Toyota Proace

Toyota Material Handling UK has chosen the Proace for its sales and service engineer fleet and has purchased 116 of the new vans, which replace the old Hiace model.

Toyota Material Handling has ordered more than 100 Toyota Proace vans for its service engineer fleet.

The firm provides national sales and servicing for Toyota forklift trucks and warehouse equipment, and says that it found the Proace to be the best vehicle on offer, “thanks to its functionality and excellent cost-of-ownership performance”.

Although Toyota Material Handling claims that the Proace ‘was no shoo-in’ and won the contract on its own merits, it’s probably fair to say that Toyota’s forklift customers would think it a bit odd if the firm’s service engineers didn’t use a Toyota van, when a suitable model was available.

It’s also fair to say that Toyota’s UK distributors would feel justifiably miffed if the Proace hadn’t been chosen — what chance would they have of selling the van to anyone else, if their own company wouldn’t use it?

Suffice it to say that the choice of the Proace, which is a rebandged Peugeot Expert/Citroen Dispatch/Fiat Scudo, was no surprise. The deal is the Proace’s first major UK fleet contract and consists of 116 vans, each of which will be a long wheelbase/standard roof height model, powered by a 2.0-litre, 126bhp diesel engine.

Phill Bird, who’s After-Sales Director for Slough-based Toyota Material Handling UK, is delighted that the Toyota Proace will be the tool of choice for his team. Bird commented:

“After a rigorous process of testing the Toyota Proace ticked all the boxes for comfort, efficiency and effectiveness for our field technicians. Their vehicles are more than just a van, they have to provide a spacious environment providing parts storage and a mobile workshop to deliver our trademark of world class support and the Proace provides both with comfort and style to match.”

The new Proace replaces the European version of the Hiace, which was never a big seller, and offers a choice nine different configurations, including two vehicle lengths, two height options, payloads of one or 1.2 tonnes and a choice of three diesel engines. The versions selected by TMHUK have been fitted with racking by specialist supplier Bott inside the capacious, 6m3 loadspace.

The comfort and safety of TMHUK’s workforce will be addressed by a standard Proace equipment specification that includes ABS with emergency brake assist, VSC stability control, driver and front passenger airbags and air conditioning. The vans are also fitted with Bluetooth, electric windows, driver’s seat height adjustment and reach and rake adjustment for the steering wheel.

Nissan Launches Ready-To-Roll NV200 Fridge Van

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Nissan NV200 Fridge

The cooling unit hardly protrudes above the roofline in the Nissan NV200 Fridge – the bulk of the unit is inside, as the picture below shows.

Nissan has launched a refrigerated conversion of its NV200 van that will be available directly from main dealers, with prices starting from £19,375.

The firm says that the decision to offer a fridge van conversion is the result of strong fleet and business demand and highlights that buyers of the new van will get Nissan’s standard three-year warranty, which will include the insulated cell and the cooling unit.

The conversion itself is carried out for Nissan by French converter Gruau, which will install a moulded polyester-polyurethane insulated cell with a cubic capacity of 2.2m³and a Carrier low-profile roof-mounted cooling unit, which will cool the van down to 0°C.

Unlike many aftermarket fridge conversions, where box-like cooling units are bolted on top of the front of the roof, this cooling unit barely protrudes above roof level and maintains the original look and aerodynamic qualities of the van — the majority of the cooling unit is inside the van, although not in such a way as to be likely to affect the usable loadspace.

Nissan NV200 Fridge van insulated cell

Inside the Nissan NV200 Fridge van.

Nissan says that the entire conversion adds just 215kg to the weight of the vehicle, leaving a useful 524kg of payload.

The NV200 Fridge Van also comes fitted with a mains connection, so that it can be plugged into a standard 13A socket overnight to maintain the temperature in the refrigerated compartment.

The van is powered by Nissan’s ever-present (and very good) 1.5 dCi diesel engine, which boasts an official fuel consumption figure of 57mpg, although I would imagine the fridge might reduce this a bit.

Barry Beeston, Nissan corporate sales director said:

“A lot of great work has gone into developing the NV200 Fridge as the ideal solution for any fresh food company’s transportation needs. With the conversion adding little weight to the vehicle, the driving quality and the nimble performance of the base NV200 is maintained. ”

The standard version of the NV200 Fridge includes rear doors only and starts from £19,375, but a model with an additional sliding side door is also available, from £19,675. The van is available to order now from Nissan dealers.

Could Van Hire Companies Cut Insurance Costs With Accident Cameras?

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Smart Witness accident camera

The Smart Witness accident camera is compact and discreet and is unlikely to be noticed by anyone outside the vehicle.

If you mention an in-cab camera to most drivers, their first reaction will probably be that they don’t want to be spied on and that having such a camera is a sign they aren’t trusted.

The truth, however, may be the complete opposite. One of the biggest problems with insurance claims is the “he said, she said” type of argument that often results when there are no independent witnesses to a collision.

Having video footage can immediately establish the truth of what happened, reducing insurance claims and protecting innocent drivers from unfair accusations.

This recent story is a great example:

Shocking video footage captures the moment a motorcyclist veers across a winding country lane and is involved in a terrifying collision with a truck. The video shows the bike being smashed to smithereens after driving into the HGV.

Miraculously, the biker escaped with just a broken shoulder after narrowly avoiding being crushed.

The police were called and the HGV driver was allegedly accused of speeding, dangerous driving and poor lane discipline.

His truck was fitted with a Smart Witness Vehicle Accident Camera which proved that the HGV was NOT to blame for the collision.

The video proved that he was travelling at just 27mph at the point of collision and driving safely on the correct side of the road.

As soon as the police viewed the footage, the motorcyclist’s complaint was dismissed and a messy and expensive insurance battle was avoided.

Reading this made me wonder whether van hire companies could also benefit from fitting devices such as the Smart Witness camera to their fleets.

In the event of an accident, rather than being forced to lodge an insurance claim against the other driver using a second-hand and possibly unclear description of events from the driver of the rental van, hire firms would be able to view footage of the accident and provide this to police — and if necessary the other driver’s insurance company — to provide a simple and rapid resolution of the claim.

Top of the range in-vehicle camera models such as Smart Witness’ SVC100GPS accident camera provide video, GPS speed and location data, and a shock sensor for impact measurement. This enables police accident investigators to rapidly work out what happened, and who was at fault. The Smart Witness unit costs £239, but cheaper cameras without GPS are also available from other manufacturers, which would cut the cost of a fleet-wide installation and would still provide the unique benefit offered by video footage.

Installation requirements are minimal and although there would be a risk that the device would be stolen or interfered with by rental customers, I reckon that by avoiding just a handful of insurance claims each year, a system like this could easily pay for itself for hire companies.

In the meantime, in case you are unlucky enough to have an accident in a hire van, why not check out our accident and breakdown guide?