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.

White Van Man Is Target For Cloned Vehicles

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Vehicle cloning – fraudulently changing a vehicle’s identity – has always been most commonly associated with prestige cars. However, it seems that vans and pickups have become equally popular targets.

The Ford Transit has been the second most cloned vehicle in the UK for the last 4 years, with the popular van accounting for a surprising 11% of cloned vehicles in 2007-8. Vehicle identity check specialists HPI have issued a warning to anyone looking for a used van to beware of the possibility that it will have been cloned – stolen and then given a new identity.

If you are looking for a second-hand vehicle of any type, it’s essential that you follow a few basic precautions:

  1. Check that the VRM (Vehicle Registration Mark) and VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) both match up with those on the vehicle’s registration document (V5).
  2. Perform an HPI Check on the vehicle you are buying (if the seller has not done it for you). This will check the vehicle’s history, identity, recorded mileage and other information. An HPI Check only costs £19.99, can be done instantly online or over the telephone and provides you with a £30,000 guarantee should the vehicle turn out to be stolen or cloned.
  3. Know the approximate value of the vehicle you are buying. HPI advise that if you are paying less than 70% of a vehicle’s normal market value, then there is probably something suspicious about the deal. Remember: If it looks to good to be true, it probably is.

Finally, remember that if you by a cloned or stolen van without realising and the vehicle is subsequently identified, the van will be returned to its rightful owner and you will receive zero compensation – so you will lose everything you paid for it.

This is why a HPI Check is a bargain at twenty quid…

Heavy Panel Van Buyers Guide

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The ever-useful Fleet News website has now published its illustrated Heavy Panel Van Buyers Guide – to complete the trio it started with the earlier Small and Medium Panel Van Buyers Guides.

The category ‘heavy panel vans’ includes all van manufacturers offering at least a 3.5 tonne top weight model, although some models can be rated at much higher rates.

The vans covered by the guide are:

  • Citroen Relay
  • Fiat Ducato (basically the same vehicle as the Citroen, badged differently)
  • Ford Transit
  • Iveco Daily
  • LDV Maxus
  • Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

You can see the full guide here.

Mercedes Sprinter Takes Fleet Van Honours Again

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It’s no secret that the Mercedes Sprinter is one of the most popular vans in Europe with both drivers and operators. This week it confirmed that reputation with the award of the coveted Motor Transport Fleet Van of the Year award for 2008.

It’s the second consecutive year that the Sprinter has won the award, highlighting just how strong a grip Mercedes has on the large panel van sector. The Motor Transport judges were impressed not only by the vehicle but by the strong support available from the Mercedes-Benz dealer network and by market-leading innovations such as Eco Start, which saves fuel by automatically switching the engine off during idling without jeopardising safety or reliability.

The award was presented at the recent Motor Transport Awards in London and marked the fourth time in six years that the Sprinter has won the Fleet Van of the Year Award!

Green Van Hire, Carbon Offsetting & Hybrid Sprinter Test Drive

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Rent A Van, Plant A Tree

Green Motion, one of the leading green van hire companies in the UK, has recently announced a partnership with Trees4Good, a carbon-offsetting organisation.

Trees4Good operate tree-planting campaigns in Borneo and Brazil and their partnership with Green Motion will mean that a tree is planted for every customer. The cost of this will be fully-absorbed by Green Motion; unlike some other hire companies, they will not levy an additional charge for this carbon offsetting service.

Green Motion claim that this partnership will enable them to become the world’s first carbon-neutral car and van rental company, as the carbon benefits for each tree planted will more than offset the carbon emissions of each vehicle Green Motion operates during its lifetime with the company.

New Hybrid Mercedes Sprinter Gets Early Test Drive

I’ve been touting hybrids as a way forwards (in preference to biofuels) for some time now and it is encouraging to see how many hybrid vehicles are starting to come to market – or at least get close.

The van market isn’t being left behind and Mercedes are now in the advanced stages of testing and developing a hybrid Sprinter van. Commercial Motor managed to get a test drive of a pre-production model in Germany this week and found it to be a well-developed and competent van.

You can read their first impressions review here.

Fancy A New Mk5 Transit? They Make Them In China!

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As the proud owner of a Mk5 Ford Transit, it warmed my heart to find that these magnificent beasts (…) are Mk5 Ford Transitstill being made in China, courtesy of the Jiangling Motors Corporation.

While I am the first to admit that they aren’t the last word in refinement or performance (slow and noisy might be a fairer description) they are excellent, reliable workhorses built in the tradition of older commercial vehicles and designed to take some abuse.

These Chinese Transits look like they should be even better than the original Fords. The cabs seem to be nicely specified and the choice of engines has improved, with a Mitsubishi petrol engine or one of several turbo-diesels to choose from.

According to ChinaKnowledge.com, JMC sold more than 2,500 of Transit-based commercials in May alone – proving that there’s still life in the old dog yet.

You can check out the Jiangling Ford Transits in all their glory here – and be quick, as it looks like JMC are about to leapfrog the Mk6 and go straight to the latest generation Transit – the same one as the European Mk7 Transit.

P.S. The scruffy old nail in the picture above isn’t mine!

CO2 emissions of new vans to be published – Soon…

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It looks like the BVRLA’s ongoing campaign to persuade van manufacturers to publish their vans’ CO2 emissions may be nearing a triumph.

Back in January I reported on the BVRLA’s (British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association) plans to create a public database of van emissions, similar to that which is already available for cars. From 1st January, 2008, manufacturers have had to give their new vans a CO2 rating – but they aren’t yet required to disclose them.

This has made it difficult for fleet buyers whose businesses may have set emission reduction targets or who may simply wish to try and do their bit for the environment. However, it now appears that the manufacturers have agreed to publish the CO2 ratings of new vans and the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) is now in discussion with the Department of Transport to bring this about in an effective way – probably “via the Vehicle Certification Agency“, according to BVRLA Director General John Lewis.

The decision has come none too soon; according to the Department for Transport (DfT), vans are now the fastest growing source of CO2 emissions on our roads. With 340,000 new vans hitting the roads last year, it’s not hard to imagine why.

The SMMT is keen to point out that these figures are far from perfect. Unlike cars, whose profile and payload rarely varies significantly, vans can nearly double in weight when loaded and can be typically be specified with different roof heights, for example. Both of these options will affect a van’s CO2 emissions and since CO2 ratings are currently calculated based on rolling road tests with no payload, we can expect the manufacturers’ ratings to be somewhat optimistic for many van users.

The European Commission is planning a consultation exercise to try and work out how to bring more realism to these figures, but this could take years. In the meantime, hats off to the BVRLA, as their six-month campaign has finally bore fruit, providing van operators with some much needed data!

New Van News from Smith Electric Vehicles, Fiat & Vauxhall

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The last few weeks have seen an interesting range of new vans come to market in the UK. Here’s a run down of what’s new to the market.

Smith Electric Vehicles

British company Smith Electric Vehicles have emerged as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of all-electric vehicles over the last few years.

Their Ford Transit-based Edison has proved especially popular with urban and other low-mileage users and they have now announced a new, smaller van, the Ampere, to complement it. The Ampere is based on the hugely popular Ford Transit Connect so should be equally successful.

The Ampere has an 800kg payload, a 100 mile range and a top speed of 70mph.

Fiat

Alongside the launch of Fiat‘s new small van, the Fiorino (the same vehicle as the Peugeot Bipper/Citroen Nemo), the company have also launched their ‘BforB’ range – Built for Business. This is a range of pre-built chassis van models such as tippers, Lutons, box vans and crew cabs which can be ordered directly from the dealer.

Fiat aren’t the first manufacturer to do this. Companies such as Renault and Vauxhall are already offering similar deals and they are proving to be popular – not least due to extremely fast delivery times. Fiat claim that a completed van can be delivered in two weeks, which is pretty fast.

Vauxhall

Finally, Vauxhall have added a new factory conversion to its existing range, this time based on the Movano van.

The Movano Luton offers a payload of 1,385kg and 17.2 cubic metres of load space – quite big, even for a Luton. It’s one of the current crop of streamlined lutons, where the overcab area is curved to reduce wind resistance and help fuel efficiency. It does however reduce quite how much can be carried in this area, although for most users it’s not a big issue.

The Movano Luton comes with Vauxhall’s 2.5CDTi engine which can be specified at 100bhp, 120bhp or 146bhp ratings. The van and its aluminium Luton body are covered by Vauxhall’s three-year/100,000 mile manufacturer’s warranty and can be ordered directly from Vauxhall dealers.

Medium Panel Van Buyers Guide

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Warm on the heels of their recent small van buyers guide, the good people at Fleet News have now published a medium panel van buyers guide, which provides an overview of all of the major contenders in this popular sector of the market.

These vans generally have a gross vehicle weight (GVW) between 2.5 and 3.0 tonnes (except the VW Transporter, which also comes in a 3.2t version).

Vans covered in the buyers guide are:

  • Citroen Dispatch
  • Fiat Scudo
  • Ford Transit
  • Mercedes-Benz Vito
  • Nissan Primastar
  • Peugeot Expert
  • Renault Trafic
  • Vauxhall Vivaro
  • Volkswagen Transporter

You can see the full guide here.

Citroen Nemo vs. Peugeot Bipper (+New Partner & Berlingo)

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It’s all change on the small van front this summer. Peugeot and Citroen are going head to head with two major new models, the Berlingo/Partner and the Nemo/Bipper.

I list them like that because they are of course competing against each other with the same vehicles – all Peugeot and Citroen vans (and most Fiats) are the product of PSA, so the only difference is badging and sometimes engine options.

Needless to say, the new Berlingo-Partner is bigger than the vehicle it replaces – although the current model will continue to be sold as the Berlingo First and Partner Origin. It’s still a great no-frills, economical van and will no doubt continue to sell well, especially in these increasingly budget-concious times.

The Bipper – Nemo is a smaller van, fitting between a hatchback like the 207 Van and the Berlingo. Here’s a picture of a Peugeot Bipper:

Peugeot Bipper van

It will have an impressive payload of 610kg, 2.5 cubic metres of load space and a neat overall length of just 3.86m. All of these features no doubt contributed to it winning the 2008 Fleet World ‘Best New Van’ Award and it should be a success, as should its Citroen-badged twin brother, the Citroen Nemo (see the similarities?):

Citroen Nemo van

For more details on all of these new models, see the excellent round up on the Fleet News site.

Vauxhall Astravan Wins (Another) Award

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Vauxhall AstravanVauxhall’s estate car sized Astravan has always been popular with builders, self-employed tradesmen and others who need the practicality of a small panel van but don’t want to trade up to a Transit or Citroen Despatch-sized van.

The Vauxhall Astravan is consequently one of the most popular vehicles in the car-derived van class and has just won the award for best car-derived van at the Professional Van & Light Truck Awards.

The British-built Astravan is made at Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant and also has another advantage over even small vans like the Transit Connect – its car-derived nature and maximum gross weight of under 2 tonnes means that it is subject to car speed limits, rather than the lower speed limits which apply to all vans with a plated weight of over 2 tonnes.

Picture (C) GM Corp.