Author Archives: Van Rental

New FUSO Canter Is Prize Catch For Salmon Fishery

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Wester Ross Fisheries FUSO Canter 7.5t truck

Wester Ross Fisheries’ new FUSO Canter 7.5t truck.

West Highlands-based salmon farmer Wester Ross Fisheries has just replaced its four-year old 7.5-tonne FUSO Canter with a like-for-like replacement, highlighting the firm’s satisfaction with this no-nonsense light truck model.

One of the Canter’s biggest strengths over European models is its superior payload — Wester Ross’ new flat-bed Canter has a 4,085kg payload, which is, as Gilpin Bradley, the firm’s managing director points out, “as good as it gets for a 7.5-tonner”.

The new Canter is fitted with a 20ft alloy platform body and is a range-topping 7C18 model, with a 175hp engine and DUONIC automated manual transmission.

The truck will be used for general purpose duties, and undertakes a wide variety of tasks, such as moving pens and other materials between sites, all of which are within an hour’s drive of each other, collecting ice used when harvesting, and transporting fish for primary processing.

Although the Canter’s cab may not offer the level of sophistication found in European truck models like Mercedes’ own Atego, its compact dimensions and light weight are far more important for this kind of short-distance, rural work.

Discussing his latest purchase, Wester Ross Managing Director Gilpin Bradley is keen to emphasis that the Canter’s class-leading payload remains its key attraction:

“We switched to our first Canter because it offered a significantly higher carrying capacity than our previous vehicles. This remains our most important consideration and with its lightweight body our new truck has a payload of 4,085 kg, which is as good as it gets for a 7.5-tonner.

“We specified the higher output engine on this occasion because there are a lot of hills in this part of the world and we didn’t want the vehicle to be working too hard. Our last Canter was exceptionally reliable and I’m confident the same will be true of its successor.”

Wester Ross Fisheries is Scotland’s oldest independent, owner-operated salmon farm, and unlike many of its competitors, all fish are hand-reared — not simply monitored by cameras and machines.

Northgate Vehicle Hire Reports First Signs Of Growth

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Northgate Vehicle Hire’s parent firm Northgate plc reported what may be the first signs of its recovery today. In the firm’s most recent quarterly update, Northgate said that UK vehicles on hire had increased by 1,600 to 44,700, compared to 43,100 during the same period last year. This reverses a long-running trend that has seen the company reduce its fleet size in order to maintain stable utilisation and profitability as it has battled to reduce its debt pile.

Of the 1,600 additional vehicles on hire, 500 vehicles were based at new sites opened by the company, while the remainder were at existing sites, providing an encouraging indication of both organic growth and successful expansion.

The majority of Northgate’s business is with fleets and business customers — its vehicles don’t appear in our van hire price comparison results — and although Northgate’s vehicle hire business does serve retail customers directly, it’s not as well known as the major car rental brands, like Europcar.

Stable utilisation

The Darlington-based firm said that vehicle utilisation had averaged 88% during the last quarter, compared to 89% during the same period last year, but that utilisation returned to 89% in August, despite a modest increase in fleet size from 49,900 at 30 April 2013 to 50,600 currently. Underlying hire revenue per rented vehicle also edged higher, rising by 1% compared to the same period last year.

As you might expect, Northgate reported that used van sale prices remained strong during the last quarter, and were in-line with last  year’s prices.

Spanish growth

We’ve become conditioned to some modest signs of growth in the UK, but it was even more surprising to see that Northgate reported a similar set of results from recession-bound Spain. Although some of the gains were seasonal, Northgate said that utilisation rose to 92% in the period to 18 September 2013, compared to 90% for the same period last year. Northgate’s Spanish fleet also grew, from 35,100 at the end of April to its current level of 36,100.

Northgate plc operates the Norflex, Northgate Vehicle Hire and Van Monster businesses in the UK.

UK Van Manufacturing Slumps 51% In August

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Commercial vehicle manufacturing output collapsed in August, falling by 51% as a combination of weak demand, the Ford Southampton closure and seasonal maintenance periods impacted production.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), just 3,694 commercial vehicles were built in the UK in August, down by 51% from August 2012, when 7,608 were built:

CV manufacturing Aug-12 Aug-13 % Change YTD-12 YTD-13 % Change
Total 7,608 3,694 -51.4% 72,708 60,646 -16.6%
Home 3,648 1,338 -63.3% 29,918 27,539 -8.0%
Export 3,960 2,356 -40.5% 42,790 33,107 -22.6%
% export 52.1% 63.8% 58.9% 54.6%

Data courtesy of SMMT (www.smmt.co.uk)

August is traditionally the weakest month of the year, but this year has been pretty disastrous, not least because of the closure of the Ford Transit factory in Southampton. These two graphs show the full horror of the situation — the UK’s CV manufacturing industry has simply collapsed since 2009, with no prospect of any improvement:

UK CV manufacturing August 2013

Total CV manufacturing is less than half its peak pre-recession level, while CV exports have shrunk to almost nothing. (Graphs courtesy of SMMT)

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, says that he expects the rest of the year to be pretty bad, too:

“Focused almost entirely on the European market, UK commercial vehicle manufacturing has been impacted by ongoing uncertainly in Eurozone countries, model changes and restructuring of some domestic operations. We expect overall commercial vehicle output to remain negative through the rest of the year, but some sectors may fare better with recent increases in demand for UK-built trucks and buses.”

Given that total CV manufacturing output is down by 16.6% for the year to date, compared to the same period last year, any improvement would be worthwhile, but with unemployment still rife in Southern Europe, and French and German van operators traditionally loyal to home-market brands, it’s hard to see where the improvement is going to come from, unless the UK economy picks up unexpectedly quickly.

Nissan e-NV200 Is A Hit In London’s Square Mile

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Nissan e-NV200 electric van

Nissan e-NV200 on trial with the City of London Corporation. The e-NV200 is due to be launched in 2014.

The City of London Corporation is the ‘local council’ for the square mile — London’s financial district, which has just 9,000 residents, but has 350,000 daily commuters and nine million annual visitors.

The dense, congested, urban environment in which the Corporation’s vehicles operate should be ideal for electric power, and two trials this year have confirmed this.

Earlier this year the City of London Corporation took part in a successful trial of the Nissan LEAF electric car, and it’s just completed a week-long trial of Nissan’s electric van, the e-NV200.

The Corporation found that the van could complete a typical daily usage cycle on one charge and received positive feedback from all of the drivers who tried the vehicle.

Using an all-electric vehicle means zero CO2 emissions at the point of use, and the cost of charging an electric vehicle is significantly lower than the equivalent cost of diesel.

The London trial is just one of several trials that Nissan has undertaken with the e-NV200, all of which have been successful. The van is due to be launched next year, and I expect it to be one of the first commercially successful electric vans.

Through its extensive trial programme, Nissan has provided key commercial users with a thorough understanding of how the van can be used, and assuming it is sufficiently affordable, I expect demand to be strong.

Heading Off To University? It’s Time To Hire A Van

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Student hat and degree scrollAll across the UK, the university term is about to start (or it’s just started), and parents and students are arriving in droves, often with surprising amounts of ‘stuff’ — electronics, furniture and clothing, mostly, plus a few books…

The only problem is that when you come to pack all that stuff into your car, you may find it simply doesn’t fit — or that your pristine new car is going to end up looking like a battle-scarred taxi inside, by the time you’ve rammed everything in.

The solution, of course, is van hire. This is an especially busy time of year for van hire companies, who face a surge in demand from students and their parents every autumn, as the university crunch strikes, and parents realise that a car simply isn’t the answer.

Although demand is high and I would have recommended booking earlier, my sources tell me that there is still availability for hire vans in most UK locations for the next fortnight, during which most universities kick off the new year.

Luckily, our unique, transparent van hire price comparison engine allows you to compare prices from most major UK van hire companies with just a few clicks. If you need a last-minute rental van, here are a few pointers to get you started:

Thrifty Opens Worcester Car & Van Hire Branch

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Thrifty Car & Van Rental logoThrifty Car and Van Rental is continuing its steady expansion in the UK and has opened a new branch in Worcester, on Prescott Drive.

The new branch offers a range of cars and vans for hire and also offers its FlexiFleet service for business customers, which I recently wrote about in my feature on long-term van hire.

Worcester branch manager Amanda Field is keen to emphasise her team’s customer service credentials and the central location of the new branch:

“Our customer service team are very friendly and professional, so you can expect a warm welcome and excellent service on every visit.”

Prescott Drive is situated just to the north of Worcester, directly off the Cotswold Way (B4639) and close to the A449, the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the districts of Blackpole and Wall Meadow.

You can find full details of the new branch, including a map, on our Thrifty Worcester branch page.

The full address and contact details for Thrifty’s new branch are:

Prescott Drive
Worcester
WR4 9NE

Tel: 01905 675114

Email: thrifty.worcester@thrifty.co.uk

You can find a full list of Thrifty UK van rental branches on our Thrifty branch page.

Vehicle Hire Software Firm Prohire Celebrates 500 UK Locations

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If you operate a small or medium-sized car and van hire company, you are likely to need a computer system to manage bookings, invoicing, rental agreements and customer records, as well as back office functions like reporting.

The cost of developing a bespoke system to suit your requirements will almost certainly be prohibitive, and this is where Prohire comes in.

Founded in 1996, Prohire specialises in providing a complete vehicle hire software solution. The firm recently celebrated the addition of the 500th rental location to use its software, when Wrexham-based Jolly Good Van Hire opened its newest branch, in Colwyn Bay.

Commenting on the Prohire service, Mark Hughes, managing director of Jolly Good, said:

“Prohire have been our rental software partner from day one. The quality management information the software provides gives excellent controls within our business”

As well as all of the back office functionality that car and van hire companies require, Prohire also provides a web interface for its customers, that allows vehicle hire firms to take online bookings without the considerable expense and complexity of developing their own booking engines.

Prohire is based on the Kent Science Park, near Sittingbourne,  and is also used by smaller, independent companies with as little as one branch, such as vanrental.co.uk advertiser Seymour Self Drive Hire & Storage, which is based in nearby Larkfield (near Maidstone).

Thieves vs. TRACKER = No Contest As Stolen Van Recovered

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Thief stealing a carWhen it comes to improving the chances of recovering a stolen vehicle, nothing beats a TRACKER.

Although many motorists will commonly associate this technology with high-end cars, the truth is that it is probably even more relevant for companies operating commercial vehicle fleets.

The loss of a van or truck, with thousands of pounds worth of goods or specialist equipment on board can cause damaging disruption to a business, even if it is all insured.

The story of a recent van theft illustrates just how powerful the TRACKER system is, both technologically, and as a deterrent.

A van belonging to Mark Keel, of KD Doors in Lanarkshire, was stolen while an engineer was out on a job. Mark is a TRACKER Fleet customer and also has TRACKER SVR (stolen vehicle recovery) units fitted to all his vehicles for added security; the power of both technologies found the van within less than an hour.

Mark Keel says:

“One of my engineers called me in the afternoon to let me know his van had just been stolen. I was obviously very concerned.  Not only was the van itself valuable, but the tools and equipment inside were equally valuable.  The loss of both would have been a major hit on our business.

“I called 999 and gave them details of the TRACKER SVR unit and 50 minutes later the vehicle was located and recovered. The thieves had apparently left it there to check if it had a tracking unit on it, and so the van was recovered with all my equipment inside. After the initial shock it was a real relief to know I had a TRACKER on my vehicle, ensuring that it could be located swiftly with everything safe inside.”

TRACKER’s range of SVR products work like electronic homing devices.  A covert transmitter is hidden in one of several dozen places around the vehicle. There is no visible aerial, so the thief won’t even know it’s there. Unlike other systems, TRACKER’s devices work no matter where the vehicle or equipment is hidden, even if taken abroad.

Van hire companies don’t always tend to fit TRACKERs (at least they don’t publicly admit to it, and given the short time vans can spend on fleet before being de-fleeted, it doesn’t seem likely), but the power of a TRACKER system is a useful lesson to anyone operating a van who can ill afford to lose a van and all the associated gear.

Of course, there are other tracking systems available that claim to offer similar benefits, but judging from this tale in The Times, they are not all as effective and securely fitted as a genuine TRACKER. In this case, thieves stole the car and removed the tracking device within 12 minutes — since when the car has not been seen.

Long-Term Van Hire: Monthly Rental & Other Tips

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vanrental.co.uk vanMany van hire customers only need a van occasionally for a few days — that’s why they choose to rent, not own a van.

However, there is another group of users who need — or choose — to hire a van for a month or more. Hiring offers a number of advantages over buying a van, not least that the hirer usually has no maintenance costs, and can hand the van back and stop paying for it whenever they no longer need it.

The good news is that long-term van hire is an attractive business for van hire companies, too, and many companies now offer this service.

In this article, I’m going to take a closer look at the long-term hire options provided by the major companies listed on vanrental.co.uk, to see how they compare, and whether there are any significant differences.

Europcar

Europcar’s Month+ service is available for hires of more than 28 days. There’s no requirement to hire a van for complete months — as long as you want it for more than 28 days, you can keep it for as long as you want. The terms and conditions of the service are broadly similar to standard daily rental and Month+ can be booked directly through Europcar’s website using its standard booking engine.

A simple, flexible choice.

National

Long-term van hire can be booked through National’s standard website booking system. There’s no mention on the firm’s website of any special deals for long-term hire, but the sample quotes I tried came out exactly the same as those I got with Europcar — perhaps unsurprisingly, as they are the same company in the UK.

Sixt

Sixt offers a long-term van hire service called Flexi Rent, but it appears to be available only to business customers, and Sixt says that deals are typically for 52 weeks, although it doesn’t specify whether this is a minimum requirement.

Sixt’s online booking system only allows you to book van rentals up to 28 days — anything longer than this and you need to get in touch with the firm directly at a branch or by phone.

Hertz

Hertz offers a van rental plan aimed specifically at long-term hire customers. Named the Hertz 28+ Plan, it includes a minimum of 2,000 inclusive miles per month and includes servicing and roadside assistance. You don’t have to pay upfront and there are no early return penalties after the first 28 days.

As an added bonus, the 28+ Plan includes complimentary Gold membership of the Hertz #1 Club, so you can bypass branch queues when collecting and dropping-off vehicles. Free delivery and collection is also included, as are a free monthly valet and up to 5,000 Nectar bonus points. Visit www.hertz28.co.uk for full details — this service isn’t available through Hertz’s standard website booking engine.

Thrifty

Thrifty also has a dedicated plan aimed at long-term car and van rental customers. This service is available online and enables you to specify van type or monthly budget, term (minimum 1 month/28 days) and monthly mileage, before providing you with a quote for each 28-day period.

The rates I saw looked pretty competitive to me, but do note that hirers have to provide their own comprehensive insurance. Hirers wanting rates including insurance can book at Thrifty’s standard daily rates, which are considerably higher. Click here for full details.

Argus Car Hire

As a broker, Argus offers the best rates available from individual hire companies’ daily rental services. It offers a good choice for long-term van hire bookings, but you should be able to find better prices by using a dedicated long-term hire service, such as those offered by Thrifty, Europcar and Hertz.

Conclusions

Hertz, Europcar, Thrifty and Sixt stand out as offering dedicated long-term hire services aimed at business customers needing hire vans for more than a month. It’s worth noting that many smaller, independent hire firms offer this service too, and that the biggest savings are for customers who can provide their own insurance — as with the Thrifty long-term van hire programme.

Although some of these companies do allow you to book long-term van hire online, this is probably a case where it is worth ringing round different companies and finding out exactly what they offer, and what, if any, the restrictions are. Make sure you understand any terms and conditions relating to mileage, usage, insurance, cross-border use and anything else that might apply to you, before working out which company offers the best overall package.

This article is part of a series looking at additional services that are available to van hire customers. To learn more, check out the following articles:

All figures and details were checked at the time of writing in September 2013, but they may be subject to change. vanrental.co.uk and the author take no responsibility for any errors, omissions or future changes. Please check yourself before booking.

New Ford Transit Connect Is ‘International Van Of The Year 2014’

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Ford Transit Connect

The new Ford Transit Connect is International Van of the Year 2014

Having bagged the International Van of the Year trophy in 2001 (Transit), 2003 (Transit Connect), 2007 (Transit) and 2013 (Transit Custom), Ford has made it five by winning the International Van of the Year 2014 award at the COMTRANS commercial vehicle exhibition in Moscow.

If the new Transit Connect is anything like as good as the Transit Custom — and we can safely assume it is — then the award isn’t really surprising.

Ford has consistently upped the ante with its small and medium vans over the last decade, and I have high expectations that next year’s full-size 2-tonne Transit model will take the fight to the Sprinter in the same way.

A few interesting statistics for van award followers; Ford is first single manufacturer to win the award for two years in a row, and its fifth award gives it the joint record for the most number of wins.

A jury of 24 journalists awards Transit Connect 130 points from a maximum possible 163, placing it ahead of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Renault Kangoo. The judges singled out the Transit Connect’s fuel economy, design, driveability, load-carrying and safety for praise, and Pieter Wieman, chairman of the “International Van of the Year” jury, said:

“Ford has succeeded in building a light van with a strong accent on economics – the vehicle is a good answer to the needs of small operators as well as big fleets to reduce the cost of transport of goods. The loading space offers several innovative aspects, such as load-through hatch in the bulkhead, fold-up front passenger seat and a sliding side door in the long-wheelbase model which enables a Europallet to be loaded.

The new Transit Connect is also the first van in its class to offer features such as Active City Stop, which helps to prevent rear-end shunts in heavy traffic conditions — a common type of collision.

The all-new Transit Connect is now available to order for delivery in late 2013.