Category Archives: Van News

News and articles about UK vans – especially information relevant to the van hire market. Coverage of new van model launches from all the major manufacturers – Ford, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Fiat and Citroen.

UK Success Story: Vauxhall Celebrates 900,000th Vivaro Built At Luton

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The 900,000th Vauxhall Vivaro

The 900,000th Vauxhall Vivaro will go on the road with AA Patrol of the Year, Tony Rich.

Who says Britain doesn’t manufacture anything anymore?

Although the loss of the Ford Transit plant in Southampton was a blow to the UK’s automotive industry, Vauxhall continues to fly the flag as the UK’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer. The Luton-based firm has just celebrated the 900,000th Vivaro van built at its Luton plant.

The model, which was painted yellow, will join the AA’s fleet and was handed over to AA Patrol of the Year Tony Rich, who will drive the van when it goes on the road.

More than 150,000 of the 900,000 Vivaros built at Luton have been sold in Britain, including 9,000 so far this year. Although the model is getting slightly long in the tooth and is due for replacement, it remains a popular model that’s good to drive and economical to run.

Fortunately, Vauxhall is planning to build the next-generation Vivaro at Luton, and production is due to start next year.

Facility changes have begun with important upgrades already installed in the body shop. Significant investment has been made in the project including €95 million in the specific plant changes and €112 million in vendor tooling, of which €34 million was spent in the UK, and €12 million on facilities.  The plant will source 40 per cent of its content locally for the new vehicle, too, although I don’t know how this compares with the current Vivaro.

Vauxhall’s Luton plant employs more than 2,500 people directly and the firm reckons that a further 15,000 are employed indirectly, by virtue of the plant’s existence and activities. The Luton plant built 53,000 vans in 2012 and is currently running at a rate of 198 per day, of which around 60% are exported, based on this year’s figures.

Of course, the intriguing question is if Vauxhall can build a medium van so successfully in the UK, why can’t Ford?

Van Registrations Up 11.2% So Far This Year

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SMMT van registration figures H1 2012-13

SMMT van registration figures H1 2012-13

Van registrations in the first half of 2013 rose by 11.2% compared to the same period in 2012, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The rise in van registrations outweighed a 10.4% year-on-year decline in truck registrations, as vans are sold in much higher volumes than trucks.

As a result, UK commercial vehicle registrations rose by 7.6% during the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2012:

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

June % change Year-to-date % change Rolling year % change
Vans 23,041 3.4% 133,177 11.2% 253,032 2.6%
Trucks 3,995 11.7% 21,320 -10.4% 43,226 -9.7%
Total 27,036 4.5% 154,497 7.6% 296,258 0.6%

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

By far the biggest volume gains in the van market were in the 2.0t-2.5t category, where new registrations rose by 22.9% from 16,058 during the first half of last year to 19.728 for the same period this year. Vans such as the Citroen Berlingo, Ford Transit Connect and Volkswagen Caddy fit into this weight bracket, highlighting how smaller vans are gaining popularity over larger models.

The pick-up market has also seen strong growth this year, with new registrations rising by 36.1% from 11,101 to 15,105, but despite this, large vans (2.5t – 3.5t) remain the biggest sellers in the UK. Registrations of full-sized vans like the Ford Transit and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter rose by 6.7% to 73,387 during the first six months of 2013.

Commenting on the figures, Nigel Base, the SMMT’s Commercial Vehicle Manager, said:

“The overall CV market rose 7.6% in the first half of 2013 with strong van registrations (up 11.2%) outweighing the uncertain truck market (down 10.4%). Looking ahead to the rest of 2013, we expect the van market to remain stable with a return to a more normal replacement cycle sustaining the market. For trucks, growth in June could be the first sign of a Q3/Q4 recovery as buyers pick from late Euro 5 or new Euro 6 models ahead of new Euro-standard legislation hitting from 2014.”

Van registrations fell quite heavily in 2012, and despite this year’s growth, new registrations are only slightly higher than they were at this point in 2011, which has contributed to the sustained high used van values we have seen over the last year. If Mr Base is right and fleet replacement cycles do return to normal, the used van market could get a much-needed influx of decent quality 2 – 4 year old vans, that may help reduce price pressure on used vans somewhat — good news for used van buyers, if not for dealers.

3,807 Miles In A Mercedes-Benz Citan: 6 Tanks of Diesel & 14 Takeaways

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Mercedes-Benz Citan at Mercedes Brentford

The Mercedes-Benz Citan at Mercedes’ Brentford dealership.

A Mercedes-Benz Citan and two drivers have completed a mission to visit every Mercedes-Benz dealer in the UK. The 3,807 miles journey took nine days and included locations from Aberdeen to  Truro.

Given that Mercedes’ commercial vehicle dealer network includes 98 locations in the UK, it was quite a trip. Amongst the locations visited were Brentford, Norwich, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Warrington and York, as well as the two most far flung dealerships in Aberdeen and Truro.

Many of Mercedes’ commercial dealers are open 24 hours a day, to allow out of hours servicing and repairs, and to demonstrate that good service never sleeps, a staff member at each dealer signed the bonnet of the Citan as it made its way around the UK.

Although the Citan managed to complete the trip using a modest six tanks of diesel, its occupants had larger appetites and consumed eight packets of biscuits,14 takeaways, 16 sandwiches, 18 cups of coffee and 21 bottles of water along the way…

The new Mercedes Citan, which is now available to order, recently won the HonestJohn.co.uk Most Popular Van Award.

Ford Transit Custom Bags Another Award

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Ford Transit Custom

The Ford Transit Custom added another trophy to its collection last night by winning the inaugural Auto Express Van of the Year award.

The multi-award winning and generally awesome Ford Transit Custom has added another award to its bulging collection, laying claim to the inaugural Auto Express Van of the Year Award.

Auto Express has recently decided to add van coverage to its weekly magazine, and marked the decision by adding a van category to its annual awards. Ford took four honours in total at the 2013 Auto Express awards, but here’s what Steve Fowler, Auto Express editor-in-chief, had to say about the Transit Custom:

“Ford has listened to the needs of van drivers and produced a vehicle that delivers in every sense of the word. It has the load-carrying ability you’d expect, with features you wouldn’t and it’ll keep running costs low, too. Up front, drivers have never had it so good, with great handling, comfort and the very latest tech.”

I’m starting to see more and more Transit Customs on the road and cannot wait to get behind the wheel of one myself. Even more interesting will be the launch of Ford’s new two-tonne Transit model in 2014, which will go head-to-head with the class-leading large van, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

For any car lovers amongst you, Ford’s other three awards were Best Supermini for the Ford Fiesta, Best Hot Hatch for the Fiesta ST, and Best Five-Seat MPV for the Ford B-Max — the same trophy Ford won last year for the C-Max.

Citroën Offers 4 Years’ Servicing & Breakdown For £249 +VAT

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Citroen Relay Stop & Start

Vans such as the Citroen Relay are now available with the 4 years/60,000 miles servicing and 4 years breakdown cover for just £249 +VAT

Fixed-cost servicing plans are increasingly popular with commercial vehicle operators, but few are more competitive than Citroën’s current ‘Upgrade to Business Class’ package.

For £249 +VAT when purchasing a new Citroën van, customers can opt to add the ‘Upgrade to Business Class’ package to their vehicle, which will cover the cost of servicing for 4 years/60,000 miles (whichever comes first) and provide 4 years’ Citroën Assistance, which is provided by the AA.

All new Citroën LCVs registered from 1 July 2013 can be specified with the package, which is also available to Citroën Finance Lease customers.

As Scott Michael, Citroën’s Head of Commercial Vehicles, comments, the deal is aimed squarely at relatively low-mileage SME customers, who are an important segment for the French manufacturer:

“This new ‘Upgrade to Business Class’ package complements our fantastic LCV range and is designed to meet the requirements of our small and medium enterprise (SME) customers, offering them a comprehensive, added-value package.

For more details, visit Citroën’s van website.

VW Transporter Smashes Top Gear Nurburgring Lap Record

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Revo Volkswagen T5 on the Nurburgring

The Revo Volkswagen T5 on the Nurburgring

Top Gear fans will undoubtedly remember watching German racer and ‘ring expert Sabine Schmitz set a new lap record around the Nurburgring in a Ford Transit, a few years ago.

Until recently, that record — for the fastest commercial vehicle lap of the ‘ring — has stood. But no more.

Perhaps fittingly, the lap record has been reclaimed by a German van, a modified VW T5 Transporter that smashed the record by breaking through the 10 minute barrier.

Volkswagen tuning experts Revo were sure that the lap time set by Ms Schmitz could be improved upon, with a little preparation.

To that end, it acquired a used T5 with 80,000 miles on the clock, and then breathed on it slightly, adding a bespoke ECU remap, Milltek ‘turbo-back’ exhaust system and a Forge intercooler/oil cooler combination. This was enough to take the engine to an impressive 220bhp and deliver a healthy increase in torque, too.

Modifications to the Revo VW Transporter

Revo’s modifications were limited to tyres, suspension and exhaust, in addition to an engine remap that boosted output to 220bhp and an uprated intercooler.

Although the T5 is one of the best-riding vans on the road, handling and roadholding was improved with the addition of BILSTEIN’s well-proven B14 coilover kit, a quartet of lightweight Team Dynamics wheels and a set of sticky, but fully road legal, Direzza boots from Revo’s tyre partner, Dunlop.

With this lot fitted, the ethos was simple:

  • Drive the T5 the 580 miles from Revo’s base near Northampton to The Ring, complete with all of the crew’s kit and gear in the back;
  • Drive around the track as fast as possible;
  • Drive all the way home again.

No trailers, no back-up plans, no contingencies. Just a simple proving exercise of the concept in a real-world situation.

Despite driving hard on track, the intelligent tuning and thoughtful engine mapping ensured that fuel economy during the trip under normal driving conditions remained exceptional.

For its ‘Ring record attempt, the van was driven by another ‘Ring pro, Dale Lomas, who hustled the T5 around for a few laps in the midst of some track day traffic, emulating the Top Gear record attempt, which was also performed with other traffic on the track.

The end result was a new lap record of 9 minutes 57 seconds around the full circuit, which is around a mile longer than the ‘Bridge to Gantry’ lap time set by Sabine Schmitz in the Top Gear Transit. Impressive stuff.

Here’s a video of the record run, and below that I’ve included the video of the original Top Gear hot lap for comparison. Van driving doesn’t get much hotter than this:

For more information about Revo and the record-breaking T5, visit the official website.

UK CV Manufacturing Down 20% in May on Export Slump

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Demand for UK-built commercial vehicles fell by 20% in May as export demand fell by a third, cancelling out a modest rise in domestic demand:

CV manufacturing May-12 May-13 %
Change		 YTD-12 YTD-13 %
Change
Total 9,445 7,560 -20.0% 47,729 40,037 -16.1%
Home 3,615 3,664 1.4% 18,792 20,227 7.6%
Export 5,830 3,896 -33.2% 28,937 19,810 -31.5%
% export 61.7% 51.5% 60.6% 49.5%

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

This is a trend we have seen playing out for some time now, but the overall decline moderated in April, thanks to a surge in domestic demand. May’s 20% overall decline is greater than the 16.1% fall for the year-to-date, but the decline in export demand of 33.2% was broadly in line with the 31.5% decline seen so far this year.

“Commercial vehicle manufacturers continue to battle against weak demand, particularly abroad, with output sliding 20% in May. Demand for UK-built CVs in the home market grew moderately, but this was not enough to lessen the significant drop in export volumes,” said Nigel Base, SMMT Commercial Vehicle Manager. “2013 is going to be a hard year for the UK’s CV manufacturers but there are pockets of positivity with some areas of the industry experiencing growth as operators take advantage of the wide range of CVs built in the UK.”

SMMT CV Manufacturing May 2007-13

SMMT CV manufacturing output in May, 2007-2013

However you look at these figures, they are pretty dire news. The graph on the right shows how the UK’s CV manufacturing industry has failed to recover from the recession.

Indeed, given the impending closure of Ford’s Transit plant at Southampton, it seems unlikely that the UK’s CV manufacturing capacity will recover to pre-2009 levels in the foreseeable future, as the loss of this factory removes a significant proportion of capacity from the industry.

Car manufacturing down

The decline in European demand is now hitting UK car production too, which is now down by 0.6% on the year, thanks to a 6% fall in export demand in May, which overwhelmed a 25% increase in domestic demand for the year-to-date.

I’m still astonished that the UK car market is performing so strongly — given the lacklustre state of the economy, it doesn’t seem to make sense, but there you go.

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.

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.

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.