Glasgow-based rental and sales group Arnold Clark will shortly open a new Motorstore branch in Nottingham. The new location will be the firm’s 22nd Motorstore branch and will offer both car and van rental and car sales.
It will be located at:
Nottingham Motorstore
Lenton Industrial Estate
Redfield Road
Nottingham
NG7 2UJ
Recruitment is currently underway — visit the Arnold Clark website for details of vacancies.
Renault has extended its Ready4Work range of dealer-supplied conversions to include offering racking and storage systems for the Renault Kangoo.
Renault Kangoo fitted with Ready4Work racking and storage kit
Customers can choose from two Ready4Work kits to optimise storage and load space in the back of their vans. The kits will be fitted before the van is delivered to the dealership. Prices start from £1,150 including VAT and can be included in the van’s finance package.
Similar offerings are already available for the larger Renault Trafic and Master vans, so extending this service to the smaller Kangoo makes sense. Unveiled at the 2015 Commercial Vehicle Show and developed in partnership with vehicle storage specialist Bri-Stor, the Renault Kangoo Ready4Work mobile workshop racking systems are designed to cater for the in-van storage requirements of the vast majority of small businesses and trades.
There are two versions of Ready4Work racking available.
Kit 1 is designed to provide engineering tradesmen with an economical racking solution that offers storage for tools, parts and accessories together with the option to add additional features, while Kit 2 is designed to suit the more specialised tradesmen who require an enhanced racking solution for the storage of tools and service equipment.
The Bri-stor racking offers a safe and efficient storage solution designed to optimise use of space in the Kangoo.
Both kits are constructed from lightweight, high strength Dual Phase steel with a yield strength of 800N/mm2 and feature the same tool panel assemblies, which each include six Euro bins and 500mm Storage Basket.
Kit 1 also includes a two-part phenolic coated floor (9mm plywood base with anti-slip phenolic coating to the top face) and a unit that has three sizeable tool baskets.
In addition to the tool panel assemblies, Kit 2 adds a unit with shelves and anti-slip matting together with a drawer unit module, which are supported by two heavy duty end frames with punched infill panels.
Utilising pre-assembled sections that are fixed to the van’s existing load lashing points, the kits allow easy and quick installation with no requirement to drill into the Renault Kangoo’s structure, which works to prevent corrosion and maintain residual values.
Both Ready4Work racking kits are covered by the four-year/100,000 mile warranty that comes as standard with the Renault Kangoo and the rest of Renault’s LCV range.
Registrations of new light commercial vehicles fell by 0.2% in July to 24,506 units, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Trader. Effectively that means no change from this time last year.
Looking at the year to date, registrations have risen by 2.6% to 216,472 so far in 2016. Registrations have slowed since their record performance during the first half of the year but remain at a post-recession high, as this graph shows:
LCV registrations July 2010 to date (courtesy of SMMT)
Discussing the figures, Mike Hawes, Chief Executive, SMMT, said:
“After a record performance in the first half of the year, it was inevitable that growth would start to level off over the summer. Maintaining business confidence for LCV operators will be critical to this sector’s future performance.”
July’s slight decline was fairly evenly spread across the market, with only the sub-2.0t van segment and pickups seeing any gains. Heavy vans (2.5-3.5t) remain the biggest volume sellers, accounting for 3 out of every five vans sold last month.
July’s best sellers table looked remarkably familiar. Ford topped the list with 7,428 units registered. That’s more than double second-placed Volkswagen, which clearly isn’t suffering too heavily from the diesel emissions scandal.
Here’s the full list of best-selling brands for July and for the year-to-date. Perhaps the only surprise to me is that Fiat is lagging so far behind its PSA stablemates Citroen and Peugeot. Almost all of these firms’ vans are the same, simply rebadged and sometimes with different engines.
The best selling van manufacturers in July and 2016 to date (courtesy of SMMT)
Mercedes-Benz is more willing than most manufacturers to stand behind its vehicles after they’re sold.
Not only does the firm offer free, lifetime Mobilovan breakdown cover on all vans serviced within its dealer network, but it’s also willing to provide fixed-cost service contracts for older vehicles.
A Loomis Mercedes-Benz Sprinter cash van during a delivery
Cash-in-transit specialist Loomis added 105 Sprinter cash vans to its fleet last year as part of an acquisition deal. They had previously been serviced by a third-party repair firm, not by franchised Mercedes dealers.
Despite this, Loomis’ fleet management partner, Contract Vehicles Limited, was still able to negotiate an eight-year Mercedes-Benz servicing, repair and maintenance contract for the new vans, including MobiloVan roadside assistance.
One of Loomis’ Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans being serviced at a Mercedes-Benz dealer.
Loomis Technical Services Manager Howard Oakley observed:
“No other manufacturer to my knowledge — and certainly not the other, mainstream van supplier that we’ve also used in the past — would commit to a comprehensive repair and maintenance contract for such an extended period.
“The fact that Mercedes-Benz is prepared to do so demonstrates the great faith it has in the reliability and durability of its products, a confidence which our own experience of operating its vans for over 25 years has proved to be well placed.”
Loomis plays a key role in managing the flow of cash in society, providing solutions that save money, protect from fraud and attack, and assist customers to analyse cash flow. As well as managing and replenishing ATM machines, it supports businesses with coin collection and delivery services.
Mr Oakley said:
“Mercedes-Benz vehicles are exceptionally reliable, which is vital given the nature of our work. Meanwhile, the manufacturer’s repair and maintenance contracts provide all-important security and peace of mind, predictable costs being invaluable when it comes to budgeting.
“Our vehicles are looked after by factory-trained technicians fitting only Mercedes-Benz GenuineParts. The fact that so many Mercedes-Benz workshops operate on a 24/7 basis is also important in helping us to restrict downtime to an absolute minimum. It’s imperative that we keep our vans on the road and if we were limited to 9-5 on weekdays and Saturday mornings it just wouldn’t work because, of course, we can’t simply go out and rent a replacement.”
Leeds-based CVL manages some 23,000 vehicles, many of which wear Mercedes-Benz three-pointed stars. Chief Executive Doug Smith commented:
“We are one of the biggest customers for Mercedes-Benz repair and maintenance contracts, and this allows us to negotiate highly competitive prices on behalf of the operators we represent.
In addition to the total of 505 Sprinters operated by Loomis, Mercedes-Benz also supplies all but a handful of the operator’s 250 trucks. Most of its Sprinters are converted 3.5-tonne panel vans although the line-up also includes a substantial number of box-bodied 5.0-tonne chassis cabs. The Sprinters are specified with varying grades of security protection, reflecting their different roles.
Loomis and CVL have been working together since 1998.
SAVE 5% on Questor van hire excess insurance with this new discount code.
** THIS DISCOUNT CODE HAS NOW EXPIRED **
Here are the details:
Please note this is a new discount code. The previous and widely advertised 5% discount code will no longer work!
If you’re new to van hire excess insurance and would like more information about this service — which can reduce the cost of van hire — then check out our van hire excess insurance price comparison page.
In 70 years of business, vehicle auctioneer BCA has sold some interesting vehicles.
Even BCA founder David Wickins probably didn’t expect that the business he started by selling 14 cars from a marquee in 1946 would become a global operation that touches more than 3.5 million vehicles each year, a quarter of which are sold online.
To mark the firm’s recent big birthday, BCA has released images of some of the most interesting, unusual and notorious vehicles ever sold by the firm.
We’ve covered Corporal Jones’ famous Dad’s Army butcher’s van before. The 1935 Ford BB van was restored by Ford’s heritage department before appearing in the recent Dad’s Army film.
However, back in 1991, this celebrated pre-war model was sold by BCA for £10,400, complete with portholes for the platoon to stick their rifles through. BCA says this sale price was probably double what it might have been without the Dad’s Army connection.
Jonesy’s Van from the Dad’s Army TV series sold by BCA for £10,400 in 1991
The funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in January 1965 was a major event in UK history. The vehicle chosen to carry the wartime leader’s coffin was a 1964 Austin Princess Hearse, which then went into service with royal funeral directors JH Kenyon Ltd.
The hearse was subsequently resold several times, including by BCA in the 1990s. It currently resides in the US with a collector who paid £3 million for it.
The Austin Princess Hearse used at Churchill’s funeral in 1965 was sold by BCA in the 1990s.
In 2010 Royal Mail donated a 1970 Morris 1000 Post Van to Barnardo’s. BCA was chosen to sell the van, which made a respectable £8,000 for the children’s charity.
News of the sale attracted a huge crowd of buyers – including Morris collectors and Royal mail enthusiasts. The van had seen service in Poole and Bournemouth in the 1970s and had been fully restored by four dedicated Royal Mail employees at the Isle of Wight workshop.
This 1970 Morris 1000 Post Van was sold by BCA on behalf of Royal Mail in 2010. All proceeds went to Royal Mail’s chosen children’s charity, Barnardo’s.
In 1989 BCA sold the loose parts of a disassembled Bentley 3 Litre Open Tourer, that was literally presented for sale in bits.
Sold at the height of the classic car boom on 11 September 1989 this collection of parts realized £80,400.
This Bentley 3-litre open tourer was consigned for sale in pieces. Sold in 1989 for £80,400.
BCA’s Great Train Robbery Special Auction held at Measham in February 1969 must have been a remarkable event, given the heist’s high profile.
One of the stars of the sale was Bruce Reynold’s 1963 Lotus Cortina, registration BMK 723 A. This was the Great Train Robber’s getaway car and had been seized by police to be sold as a proceeds of crime vehicle.
Great Train Robber Bruce Reynold’s 1963 Lotus Cortina was sold by BCA at the Great Train Robbery sale in February 1969.
Other items in the sale included a range of possessions found at the gang’s hideaway. The sale caught the public imagination and even prompted cartoons by Giles in the Daily Express and Jak in Evening Standard.
One car that certainly wasn’t a steal was the 2006 Bugattie Veyron EB 16.4 sold by BCA for £625,000 in 2010.
It represented a UK record value for a modern production car at auction and the highest value ever achieved by BCA on one vehicle. The sale attracted hundreds of people to the Blackbushe auction centre and included internet bidders from both the UK and Mainland Europe.
This Bugatti Veyron sold for £625,000 in 2010 — BCA’s most expensive vehicle ever.
All pictures courtesy of BCA.
Volkswagen looks set to go head-to-head with its former manufacturing partner Mercedes-Benz.
Whereas the current and previous model Crafter vans have been rebadged Sprinters fitted with VW engines, the new Crafter will be a completely different van.
The all-new Volkswagen Crafter van — can it take the fight to the Sprinter?
Designed by VW and manufactured at a new factory in Poland, the new Crafter appears to address several of the current van’s weaknesses when set against the Sprinter.
For example, whereas the Sprinter’s 2.1-litre power units is a scaled-down version of the engine used in Mercedes’ light trucks, the old Crafter’s 2.0-litre diesel is essentially the same as that used in its large cars and the Transporter van. Under heavy loads, the difference becomes apparent. The Sprinter’s torquey delivery makes it a more effective long distance load lugger.
While the engine in the new Crafter is still a 2.0-litre unit, Volkswagen was at pains to point out today that the new engine is a “commercial vehicle diesel engine”. This new Euro 6 “EA 288Nutz” engine appears to be a versatile unit. It will be available with four power outputs, 102PS, 122PS and 140PS, plus a bi-turbo 177PS version.
Buyers will be able to choose between front, rear and all-wheel drive models, with VW’s 4MOTION system making its first appearance on a large van. There will also be a choice of manual and automatic gearboxes.
The van itself will be available in three lengths and three heights and will feature an impressive array of safety systems. A new electro-mechanical steering system means that active driver assistance systems such as ESP with trailer stabilisation, ACC Adaptive Cruise Control, post-collision braking system, side wind compensation system and a trailer manoeuvring assistant system among others will all be available.
Inside, drivers will be cossetted in a cab that’s unmistakably Volkswagen. However, it looks very well endowed with storage and working space and should be a decent place to spend time:
Passive safety systems will include front, side and head airbags for the driver and passengers, plus an extensive range of warning systems. These include options for a reversing camera, parking distance monitor and the Rear Traffic Alert system.
It’s not often a completely new large van comes on the market. Volkswagen appears to be making a big commitment to the success of the new Crafter.
From what we know so far, the new van should be a potent package.
However, as always the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. How will the new Crafter rate with fleet operators and drivers? How reliable will it be, and how will total ownership costs compare with other similar models?
How well will VW’s support package compare to those of established large van manufacturers like Ford, Fiat Professional and Mercedes-Benz?
UK commercial vehicle (CV) production volumes surged higher in June 2015, thanks in part to a surge of buying ahead of new type approval regulations. The peak figure of 9.821 units seen in June 2015 was 50% higher than production in May 2015 and was unlikely to be equalled this year.
And so it transpires. UK CV production totalled 7,686 units in June 2016, 21.7% lower than during the same period last year and down slightly from May‘s figure of 7,748 units.
Total CV production so far in 2016 is 2.2% lower than during the first six months of last year, thanks to a 7% slump in domestic demand.
These figures would have been worse were it not for continued strong export demand. Export sales are up by 2.7% so far this year, which suggests to me that at least some eurozone economies are continuing to grow:
Data courtesy of SMMT.
Commenting on the figures, Mike Hawes — SMMT chief executive — said that they emphasised the importance of EU export markets to the UK automotive sector:
“Disruption to fleet renewal patterns triggered by type approval changes last year meant manufacturing output spiked by more than half in June 2015.1 As a result, this year’s June performance was always going to be negative so the drop is no surprise.
“The market remains at a high level, buoyed by continuing resurgence in key EU markets, with more than half of UK CV output sold overseas. Maintaining the competitive trading conditions currently afforded by EU membership, including free access to major international markets, will be critical to this sector’s future performance.”
I believe these figures should be seen in a relatively positive context. June’s volume of 7,686 units is 21% higher than the 6,348 units produced two years ago, in June 2014. That’s solid progress given the mixed economic conditions in the UK’s export markets.
The Renault Master manages to combine size and payload to make it one of the most capable load luggers under 3.5t.
These attributes were a big attraction for lorry trailer rental and maintenance firm TIP Trailer Services, which has recently added 17 new Renault Masters to its UK mobile maintenance fleet.
One of TIP Trailer Services new Renault Master vans.
The new additions take TIP’s Renault Master fleet up to 58 vans, which are used to perform maintenance and repairs on rental and leasing customers’ trailers at their premises or on the road.
TIP’s new Masters were ordered in long wheelbase, high-roof (LH35) specification and are powered by the dCi 125 2.3-litre engine. A generous payload of 1,490kg means that the Masters can carry all the necessary equipment and parts. These include an on-board generator and compressor — both heavy items.
Ordered in Business Specification, the Renault Master offers TIP’s operatives such standard features as a DAB radio with Bluetooth, electric front windows, remote central locking, ESC (Electronic Stability Control) with HSA (Hill Start Assist) and Grip Xtend; which over loose surfaces such as gravel, light snow and mud, allows one wheel to spin to help aid traction.
Fitted out to TIP’s bespoke specification by Bott Ltd, TIP’s latest Masters benefit from the standard four-year/100,000-mile warranty and roadside assistance package which comes with all new Renault LCVs. As with the rest of the company’s existing Masters, TIP’s new LCVs will be fully maintained by Renault dealerships.
Hire a van from Hertz Van Rental from just £17 per day!
This offer is available for a limited time only, so don’t miss out. Here are the main details:
** THIS OFFER IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE **
For more information, please visit the Hertz website.