Author Archives: Van Rental

Volkswagen Puts Small Business On UK’s Biggest Billboard

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Andy Brodie and his Volkswagen Transporter van

Andy Brodie with his Volkswagen Transporter van, which is about to appear on 750 billboards around the UK!

You can’t put a price on good publicity, and small business owner Andy Brodie certainly couldn’t have paid for the exposure that Volkswagen is about to give him.

An image of Andy with his cherished Volkswagen Transporter medium van bearing the name of his firm, A.B. Flooring, is featured on the 27m x 18m ‘Mega Banner’ on the M4, Britain’s largest billboard site.

The 42-year-old from Watford, Hertfordshire, who runs his own flooring business, will also appear on 750 additional billboard sites around the country as well as radio and magazine adverts, making him almost impossible to avoid!

Andy was picked from thousands of customers to be one of just four ‘faces’ of a new advertising campaign for the Volkswagen Transporter with the slogan: ‘We never forget the most important name on our vans. Yours’. 

The campaign aims to highlight how Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is working in partnership with its customers.  The three other small businesses involved are a heating specialist, a locksmith and a telecommunications specialist and were all recommended by local Volkswagen Van Centres from across the UK.

Andy, who thinks having a smart-looking van is vital for his business’s image, said:

‘When I first heard from the ad agency I took it with a pinch of salt.  Then they told me I would be famous for the whole of the summer.  It only hit home when I turned up for the photo shoot.  It took so long to do it, I realised it was serious.’

Mark Hopkins, Head of Marketing for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said:

‘These ambitious businesses are vital to the country’s economy, so entrepreneurs like Andy are already stars in many ways.  We know it’s tough out there for many businesses and we are committed to working with our customers to support them through the range of services we offer.  We thought there was no better way to show this than to let them benefit from our advertising campaign.’

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is looking for more ambitious small businesses it can help support with free publicity through its social media channels.  Interested businesses should visit www.facebook.com/VolkswagenCommercialVehiclesUK to find out more.

If you’d like to learn more about Andy or get him to do some flooring for you (his van will look good outside your house!), then you can find him @andybrodie5 on Twitter.

Pimped Volkswagen Amarok Edition Offers Top Spec Savings

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Volkswagen Amarok edition

The new Volkswagen Amarok edition — only 300 will be imported into the UK.

Hot on the heels of its Amarok Power-Pickup concept vehicle, Volkswagen has unveiled a limited edition high-spec production Amarok model called the Amarok edition.

It’s based on the range-topping and slightly bling Trendline specification but includes a further £3,400 of optional extras, offering customers a potential saving of more than £2,000 based on its starting price of £22,495 inc. VAT. The Amarok edition will be available in limited numbers, with just 300 units planned for the UK market.

Bolstering a Trendline specification that already includes body-coloured bumpers and wheel arches, the Amarok edition’s additional design features include striking 18-inch Durban alloy wheels, a black side step, black styling bars across the load area, rear privacy glass and special edition decals.

Drivers also benefit from front and rear parking sensors, a protective coating for the load area, interior floor mats, Bluetooth connectivity and satellite navigation with a five-inch colour touchscreen as standard.

The Amarok edition comes with Volkswagen’s top of the range 2.0-litre BiTDI 180 PS engine, offering up to 420 Nm of torque and a maximum towing capacity of up to 3,200 kg — one of the highest towing capacities available, albeit now outclassed by the Isuzu D-Max’s newly-upgraded 3,500kg towing capacity.

Customers can choose the six-speed manual transmission, which comes with selectable 4MOTION, or the latest eight-speed automatic transmission with permanent 4MOTION.  The automatic version boasts BlueMotion Technology, which includes low rolling-resistance tyres, start/stop system and regenerative braking to provide greater economy and lower emissions.

The Amarok edition is available in two colours: Reflex Silver, with black door mirror covers, or Deep Black, with silver door mirrors.

‘Creating the right image is very important for a lot of our customers, so we’ve had great pleasure creating the bespoke specification for the Amarok edition,’ said Mark Hopkins, head of marketing for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.  ‘It not only looks great, but offers fantastic value too,’ he continued.

Retail prices start from £22,495 (excluding VAT) with the manual transmission and rise to £24,225 (excluding VAT) for the automatic transmission.  The Amarok edition is on sale from July 2013.

Citroën Heads Off Six Competitors To Win Furmanite Fleet Renewal Deal

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One of Furmanite's new Citroen Dispatch vansFollowing a comprehensive assessment process involving six vehicle manufacturers, plant and pipeline maintenance specialist Furmanite has again chosen to renew its 100-strong LCV fleet with Citroën vans.

The deal sees the Kendal based company taking delivery of a mixture of predominantly Dispatch and Relay vans on four year, with maintenance, lease contracts through Lex Autolease. The initial orders included 28 Dispatch, 24 Relay and three Berlingo vans, which will be ply-lined by supplying dealer John Wilding of Morecambe. A further 11 Dispatch L2H1, six Relay 33 L1H1 and 35 Relay L2H2 vans are now on order.

The majority of the Dispatch vans are HDi 90 manual L1H1 1000 Enterprise models, while Furmanite has also selected Berlingo HDi 75 manual L1 625 Enterprise models, with CO2 emissions of 133g/km and 55.4mpg on the combined cycle. The order for the Relays is divided between the 35 L2H2 HDi 130 six-speed manual and the lighter and most fuel-efficient Relay, the 33 L1H1 HDi 130 six-speed manual, which has a payload of almost 1.5t and returns 38.2mpg on the combined cycle – with low CO2 emissions of just 195g/km.

Furmanite’s Director of HR, Susan Berriman, says:

“While we already run Citroën vans, we went through a rigorous re-evaluation of a wide range other manufacturer’s LCV products before we placed the order with Citroën. Our engineers are very happy with the Citroëns – we wouldn’t have considered replacing like-for-like if they weren’t.”

Analysis included factors such as reliability – a critical factor for Furmanite.

“We offer emergency services to our clients, so when we get a call, it is vital that we get engineers on site as quickly as possible,” says Ms Berriman.

In service, Furmanite vans run fully loaded, and will cover around 90,000 miles during their four year life. The company offers maintenance and repair services such as leak sealing, hot tapping and line stopping, on site machining and valve repair services to the oil, gas and power sectors. It employs more than 300 people with around a third being field-based engineers located across the UK from Aberdeen to Exeter. The engineers drive a range of Citroën Relay, Dispatch and Berlingo vans depending on the amount of equipment they need to carry for their individual expertise and work profile.

Isuzu Secures Double D-Max Fleet Deals As Business Sales Grow

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Isuzu D-Max pick-ups operated by RFT Repairs

Three of the Isuzu D-Max pick-ups delivered to RFT Repairs

Isuzu UK has just secured two significant fleet deals, underlining the increasing appeal of the Isuzu D-Max to fleet buyers across a wide range of sectors.

East Anglia-based housing association, Flagship Housing Group, signed a deal for 15 of the mid-specification Isuzu D-Max Eiger pick-ups after a competitive pitch against major rivals.

Flagship Housing Group’s fleet of pick-ups – all liveried in its signature Bottle Green colour – will be delivered by Norwich-based dealer, Dingles Isuzu, fully-fitted with load-bed liners, a hardtop canopy and rooftop ladder carrier.  The new fleet will be used to manage the maintenance of Flagship Housing Group’s 22,000 homes across the East.

Isuzu UK will also deliver a fleet of Isuzu D-Max pick-ups to civil engineering specialists, Jones Brothers.  The award-winning Welsh firm has so far ordered 15 units from the Isuzu D-Max Premium range – including Eiger, Yukon and Utah models – to service projects across the north of Wales.

William Brown, General Manager at Isuzu UK, commented:

“The expansion of our business-focused sales activities is already paying dividends. These two fleet deals say a lot about our Brand – not just because they build on our strong core of retail sales we have secured so far in 2013 – but also because they demonstrate the breadth of the D-Max’s appeal to businesses operating across diverse disciplines.”

The Isuzu D-Max has already proved to the hugely popular with UK buyers, after the Japanese-marque announced record sales during the month of March of 814 units – 16% of the UK market.  Isuzu further extended the appeal of the Isuzu D-Max pick-up with a new range of utility and style-enhancing accessories at the 2013 Commercial Vehicle Show, earlier this month. Most recently announced that its towing capacity had been upgraded from 3 tonnes to 3.5 tonnes, giving it the highest towing capacity in its class.

Used Van Values Drop 2.5% In May – BCA

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BCA van auction hallAfter hitting record levels in April, average used van values at auction dropped back slightly last month, according to the latest figures from auction specialists BCA.

The average May figure of £4,870 for all LCVs represented a fall of £128 (2.5%) compared to April.

Average age fell back to just under 58 months, although average mileage increased slightly during May.

Both fleet & lease and dealer part-exchange sectors saw values decline from the previous high points recorded in April.

BCA Used LCV Values May 2013

BCA Used LCV Values May 2009-2013 (courtesy of BCA)

On a year-on-year basis, values remained high and were 11.4% higher than in May 2012, despite the average age and mileage of the vans being sold having risen over the last year:

All vans Avg Age Avg Mileage Avg Value Sale vs CAP
May 2012 56.82 77,334 £4,370 98.19%
May 2013 57.85 78,384 £4,870 100.01%

Data courtesy of BCA

BCA’s Duncan Ward commented:

“Although values declined by around 2.5% across the board, demand remains strong across the range of used light commercials at BCA.   Even so, buyers are sensitive to mileage and condition, and excessive mileage or damage will significantly impact the price performance.  The best prices are paid for vans in good colours with a high specification and any rare or unusual vehicles will generate the most attention.”

Ward acknowledged that “after many months of strong value growth”, there is some uncertainty about where the market is heading over the remainder of this year. Although low volumes of high quality used stock have helped to inflate underlying prices, this trend cannot continue for ever, especially given the continually rising average mileage and age of the U.K.’s used van stock.

Discussing the results, Ward says that sellers will have some influence over future price movements and may need to revise their strategies:

“With the first decline in average values seen this year, now would be a good time for volume sellers to review their selling strategies and make sure they are fully in tune with market sentiment.  Vans should be sensibly valued to sell and corporate sellers should offer LCVs with full documentation and service histories and ensure they are presented in the best possible condition following pre-sale preparation.  Sellers also need to manage the supply of similar makes and models, because it can have a direct impact on price performance – even for attractive retail-quality vans.”

Van hire companies and other large fleets often de-fleet dozens or even hundred of identical vans at the same time, so it’s easy to see how this can cause a ‘feast and famine’ situation.

With UK GDP growth continuing to hover just above zero, it will be interesting to see how the remainder of the year pans out for the used van market.

Corsavan Sales Leap As Businesses Cut Costs

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Vauxhall Corsavan

The Vauxhall Corsavan

In the first five months of 2013, Vauxhall has seen sales of its award-winning Corsavan increase by nearly a quarter compared to the same period in 2012.

Corsavan sales to small businesses have seen a particularly big increase, with sales up by more than 70 per cent year-on-year, cementing the popularity of this surprisingly roomy, well-equipped, economical van.

The surge in sales suggests that despite the impact of new compact van models such as the Peugeot Bipper, car-based vans still have plenty of life left in them.

Thanks to its compact dimensions and light weigh, the Corsavan’s running costs are amongst the lowest of any van, yet it retains the ability to perform well in town and on the motorway. The Corsavan’s class-leading payload of 550kg means that weight is unlikely to restrict load capacity, making it suitable for a wide range of small van jobs.

One of the COrsavan’s strong points is its fuel economy. Vauxhall’s official figures suggest that it can deliver up to 83.1mpg on the combined cycle, with CO2 emissions as low as 89g/km – lower than many of the cleanest cars on the market. Insurance costs are also below average, as all Corsavan models fall into Group 1E.

Richard Collier, National Commercial Vehicle Sales Manager, for Luton-based Vauxhall said:

“We’re delighted with the significant sales growth that Corsavan has experienced so far in 2013. Of course, with a best-in-class payload and outstanding fuel economy at a time of rising fuel costs, we’re not surprised that the award-winning Corsavan is proving so popular.”

In line with Vauxhall’s policy for most of its new models, the Corsavan is also available in ecoFLEX low emission guise. The Corsavan ecoFLEX is powered by a 1.3-litre CDTi engine and includes standard features such as Start/Stop, which help to cut fuel costs and emissions.

Streamlined Van Cuts Fuel Costs For Pasty Deliveries

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Ginsters Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

The Ginsters Mercedes-Benz Sprinter with a trial streamlining package that the the firm believes may save up to 5% on fuel costs.

Delivering pasties is a weighty business, but Ginsters’ fleet supplier Hitachi Capital is determined to make sure that the firm’s fuel bill is as lean as possible.

To try and cut Ginsters’ fuel costs, Hitachi Capital Commercial Vehicle Solutions has teamed up with bodybuilder Solomons to develop a prototype refrigerated box van for Cornwall-based bakery manufacturer Ginsters.

The vehicle’s sleek new aerodynamic box body design with a distinct wavy roofline and streamlined Thermo King cab-mounted fridge unit aims to reduce fuel consumption by up to five per cent.

Based on a Mercedes Sprinter 3.5 tonne GVW chassis the vehicle will be run for six months alongside a regular box van on identical routes in the Midlands region where its fuel consumption will be closely monitored through its on board telematics system.

The body is made of a standard three- element insulated panel design with the fridge capable of transporting both chilled and frozen goods up to -20 centigrade. A modified rear step and door configuration is also being trialled, which is aimed at improving driver safety when unloading the van.

“Our fleet of box vans carries out the very high profile role of delivering our bakery products into thousands stores across the UK on a daily basis and we are looking forward to seeing the results of the trial. Once we have the results we will then decide on whether to extend the trial,” said Andrew Gibbons, Ginsters’ fleet continuous improvements manager.

Hitachi Capital will have supplied over fifty of Ginsters’ vans on a contract hire basis by the end of 2013 on four year deal. They also manage Ginsters’ fleet maintenance provision through the Mercedes network.

Fiat Adds ESP To All Ducato Vans

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New Fiat Ducato panel vanFiat Professional has made Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) standard on all versions of its Ducato large van. The change was introduced in April, in anticipation of any future legislative requirement for the system, which is already required on new cars.

ESP is an important safety device which uses information supplied by various sensors to check whether a vehicle is cornering safely or not. If the ESP computer believes the vehicle is going to skid, it brakes the appropriate wheel or reduces engine power.

ESP isn’t just a single system and incorporates a range of sub-systems, which are each designed to prevent a skid or loss of control under certain circumstances:

  • Load Adaptive Control identifies the size of the load and the vehicle’s centre of gravity to enable the systems to work at peak effectiveness;
  • Hill Holder makes starts on slopes easier by holding the brake on momentarily after the driver’s foot has released the pedal;
  • Hydraulic Brake Assist increases braking pressure under emergency conditions;
  • Anti-Slip Regulation acts on the individual brakes and/or temporarily reduces the power delivered to the engine in order to counteract the effects of one or both drive wheels skidding;
  • Motor Schleppmoment Regelung ensures torque remains at the wheels following a sudden downshift on an incline.

Too much technology?

Some drivers may claim that there’s too much technology in vehicles these days, and that real drivers ought to know how to manage without nanny systems watching your every move.

In response to such an argument, I would make two points:

  1. Driving isn’t a form of entertainment nor is it a skill contest. Most driving is done for necessity, not fun, so the safer it can be made, the better. No one dreams about how good it would be to have aeroplanes that were harder to fly and crashed more often, do they?
  2. Cars are faster, easier to drive, and more insulated from the outside world than they used to be, but human beings are just as slow-witted, easily distracted and error prone as they have always been. Given how many accidents happen every day, we obviously need all the technological help we can get.

Gripping stuff

Getting back the Ducato, one traction-related system that will remain an option is Traction+, which effectively uses the ESP system to simulate the effect of a locking differential on the front (drive) axle. When one wheel spins, torque is taken away from it until it grips again, until traction is regained. Traction+ only costs £150 and doesn’t require any extra mechanical hardware, making it far lighter and cheaper than a traditional 4×4 system.

Similar systems are now available on a number of car models, and I can see that systems like Traction+ may gradually reduce demand for 4×4 vehicles, since if combined with winter tyres, they would provide all the grip necessary for all-season use on all types of road surfaces, relegating 4×4 systems to their traditional roles — off-road and heavy towing.

Commercial Vehicle Registrations Down 4.7% In May, But Still Higher Than 2012

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Van registrations fell by 3.8% in May 2013, compared to May 2012, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

However, despite May’s falls, the commercial vehicle market as a whole remains up by 8.3% on the year to date, thanks to a 13% increase in van registrations compared to the first five months of 2012:

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

May % change Year-to-date % change Rolling year % change
Vans 20,503 -3.8% 110,136 13.0% 252,278 2.0%
Trucks 3,646 -9.4% 17,325 -14.3% 42,808 -9.7%
Total 24,149 -4.7% 127,461 8.3% 295,086 0.1%

Data courtesy of SMMT

Truck registrations continued to trend lower last month, dropping by 9.4%, leaving them down by 14.3% for the year to date, compared to the first five months of 2012. One reason for this could be operators’ hesitation about switching from Euro 5 to Euro 6, as Nigel Base, SMMT’s Commercial Vehicle Manager, explains:

“The overall CV market has performed well so far in 2013, but May saw volumes fall 3.8% as van model cycles combined with Euro 6 uncertainty for trucks.

For trucks, history tells us that purchases of Euro 5 will mix with new Euro 6 trucks as the year progresses, which could boost the market in the second half of 2013. For vans, the picture was positive up to May, so we anticipate this blip to be overcome as the year pans out.”

Despite this year’s modest improvement, new van registrations remain substantially lower than the 2003-2008 average, as the graph below shows:

Van registrations May 2009-13

Van registrations May 2009-13 (courtesy of SMMT)

Pick-ups and sub-2.5t vans gain ground

Last month’s fall wasn’t spread evenly across the sub-3.5t LCV market. Pick-ups continued to make gains, with new registrations rising 22.8% last month compared to May 2012. On a year-to-date basis, pick-up registrations are now 37.4% higher than last year, making them the top-performing vehicle in the sub-3.5t LCV category.

Coming a close second, and with slightly higher volumes, registrations of vans between 2.0t and 2.5t are up by 22% on the year-to-date, and rose by 15% last month compared to May 2012.

However, the biggest volume sector of the van market remains the 2.5t-3.5t segment, which includes large van models such as the Ford Transit, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Iveco Daily. Registrations in this category dipped by 6.7% last month but remain 8.9% higher on the year-to-date, with 60,395 registered so far this year, up from 55,460 for the same period last year.

A sign of things to come?

The overall picture is one of cautious optimism for the van market, and it may be that operators are being forced to update their fleets after deferring planned renewals as long as possible.

Newer models offer increasingly powerful incentives in terms of lower emissions and improved fuel consumption, but I don’t expect total registrations in 2013 to run that far ahead of last year’s total.

Iveco Extends Pre-Bodied ‘DriveAway’ Scheme to 7.5t Eurocargo Models

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Iveco Eurocargo DriveAway box lorry

This Eurocargo box lorry is one of three pre-converted DriveAway models that now available from Iveco dealers. The other two choices are a tipper, and a curtainside conversion.

Over the last few years, I’ve reported more than once on the growing popularity of van manufacturers’ in-house conversion schemes, which allow you to buy ready-made lutons, dropsides, tippers and other chassis cab conversions directly from main van dealers.

For younger readers, it never used to be like this! If you wanted to buy a luton for your removals firm, you had to order a chassis cab from a van manufacturer and then arrange for a bodybuilder to fit a luton body to it for you.

The convenience of the manufacturers’ conversion schemes is obvious, but their other big advantage lies in the area of the EU Whole Type Approval rules, which will require modifications made to a vehicle before it is first registered to undergo type approval (for more information on this, click here).

Iveco was one of the first companies to understand the potential of this approach and its ‘DriveAway’ scheme for its 3.5t Daily model has been very successful.

Buoyed by this success, Iveco has now extended the DriveAway scheme to its Eurocargo 7.5 tonne model, which will now be available with box, curtainside and tipper bodies.

Martin Flach, Iveco’s Product Director, says:

“European Whole Vehicle Type Approval applies to all trucks above 3.5 tonnes from October 2014 and these Eurocargo DriveAway bodies will be certified during 2013, well in advance of the deadline.

“Critically for customers, it means the complete Eurocargo DriveAway vehicle can be purchased on one invoice with a comprehensive two year unlimited mileage warranty covering the body and chassis. It also gives customers the assurance of quality engineering from an Iveco accredited bodybuilder – with solutions to suit the three most popular body types specified on Ivecos in this weight category.”

A key benefit to customers will be that they will only have to deal with one point of sale (the Iveco dealer), rather than co-ordinating between two or more suppliers.  As a result, there will be significantly shorter delivery times, coupled with lower costs and higher residual values. Many vehicles will be available to purchase directly from dealer forecourts.

I can see this could a particular attraction to van and truck hire firms offering 7.5 tonne lorries for hire, as they will be able to benefit from shorter lead times, a high quality, standardised solution, and solid resale values.

DriveAway 7.5t Launch Models

Iveco Eurocargo DriveAway Tipper model

A 7.5t Eurocargo tipper model will also be available as part of the DriveAway launch range.

From launch the range will include the Eurocargo DriveAway tipper (ML75E16K), built on a 3,105 mm wheelbase. The Brit-Tipp body features a steel front end double dropside tipping body complete with heavy duty ladder gantry and top and bottom hinged rear tailgate, with the body weighing just 1,110 kg for an ultra-competitive payload.

The tipper model can be optionally specified with a 50mm tow ball and pin with seven pin trailer connection for the tipper body.

The Eurocargo DriveAway box (ML75E16S) features a 4,455 mm wheelbase, with internal load space dimensions of 6,100 mm (l) x 2,400 mm (w) x 2,375 mm (h) and offers a cubic capacity of 34.77m³. This JC Payne body weighs approximately 1,370 kg, and customers can add a 1,000 kg-plated column tail-lift as an optional extra.

Completing the range is a Eurocargo DriveAway curtainsider (ML75E16), also built on a 4,455mm wheelbase and with internal load space dimensions of 6,100 mm (l) x 2,400 mm (w) x 2,384 mm (h). This JC Payne body offers a cubic capacity of 35.95m³, with a body weight of approximately 1,375 kg.  Customers can add a 1,000 kg-plated tuck-away tail-lift as an option.

Iveco dealers nationwide will be taking delivery of stock vehicles during June and July 2013. If a vehicle is not available from a customer’s local forecourt, dealers will have the ability to quickly source available vehicles from other Iveco dealers within the network. Alternatively, any available chassis can be delivered to the respective manufacturer’s production facility and a DriveAway options body fast-tracked into production to ensure short lead times.