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Ford & Vauxhall Triumph At What Van? Awards 2013

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Ford Transit Custom

The Ford Transit Custom is What Van? Van of the Year 2013

British van brands Ford and Vauxhall came away from the What Van? 2013 Awards looking like the biggest winners, collecting three gongs each to take six out of a possible 11 awards, including Van Of The Year 2013 for the new Transit Custom.

Brentwood-based Ford won three awards, including the overall Van of the Year 2013 award, and was highly commended in three further categories.

Unsurprisingly, the all-new Ford Transit Custom (one of which has just appeared on my local Ford dealer’s forecourt) won the Van of the Year 2013. This all-new model was praised by the judges for its interior and exterior quality, as well as a host of innovations new to the light commercial vehicle sector.

What Van? editor Paul Barker said:

“The new Transit Custom does the name and heritage of the UK’s dominant van proud by improving vastly over its award-winning predecessor, particularly in terms of innovation and interior quality, which is superior to anything van drivers are used to,” said What Van? Editor Paul Barker. “Replacing the vehicle that dominates the UK market was never going to be easy, but Ford has certainly produced the goods and deserves continued success.”

The Transit Custom also won the Medium Van of the Year award, while the new Ford Ranger romped home with the Pick-Up of the Year gong.

Vauxhall also took a hat-trick of prizes – its Ecoflex efficiency technology claimed the Green Award, the Corsavan won the Small Van of the Year prize and the Combo shared the Light Van of the Year Award with the Fiat Doblo Cargo on which it is based.

The best of the rest

MINI Clubvan

The MINI Clubvan won the What Van? Editor's Choice award

The new MINI Clubvan picked up the Editor’s Choice award, while Chinese newcomer to the UK market Great Wall was highly commended in the same category for its Steed pick-up, which should be a useful marketing feather in the cap for this large Chinese manufacturer.

The Iveco Daily retained its Large Van of the Year award, but it will be interesting to see if it manages this trick after the new two-tonne Ford Transit goes on sale next year. Unlike the current Transit, the new van will be a genuine large van that should compete head-to-head with the Iveco Daily and other popular large van models, like the Sprinter and Renault Master.

Driver favourite Volkswagen was notably absent from the award winners, although it did manage two highly commended mentions for its VW Transporter (which was displaced from the winner’s slot by the Ford Transit Custom) and the VW Caddy 4Motion, which was beaten to the 4×4 Van of the Year award by the mighty Mercedes Sprinter 4×4.

What Van? Awards 2013 Full Results

Here’s the complete list of winners and runners up:

Category 2013 winner 2013 Highly Commended
Van of the Year Ford Transit Custom –
Small van of the Year Vauxhall Corsavan Ford Fiesta van
Light van of the Year Fiat Doblo Cargo
Vauxhall Combo		 VW Caddy
Medium van of the Year Ford Transit Custom VW Transporter
Large van of the Year Iveco Daily Nissan NV400
Renault Master
Vauxhall Movano
Pick-up of the Year Ford Ranger Isuzu D-max
4×4 van of the Year Mercedes Sprinter 4×4 VW Caddy 4Motion
Safety Award Mercedes Ford Ranger NCAP
Green Award Vauxhall Ecoflex DfT Electric Vehicle Subsidy
Innovation Award Emerald Automotive Ford Transit Custom
Editor’s Choice Award Mini Clubvan Great Wall Steed

For more details on the winners see www.whatvan.co.uk.

Ford Vans Are Most Reliable Say Fleet Managers

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Ford Transit mk7

Ford Transit: the most reliable van in the UK

Ford commercial vehicles are the most reliable in Britain, according to the managers of the 50 largest fleets in the UK.

The Brentwood-based blue oval replaces Volkswagen as the most reliable manufacturer, according to the results of the FN50 survey, which surveys the 50 largest UK contract hire and leasing companies.

Commenting on the results, Stephen Briers, editor of Fleet News, said:

“Van reliability is arguably more important than car reliability. A van driver can’t work from home if he or she needs to deliver vital equipment or provide a necessary service. Ford’s commitment to ensuring the Transit and Transit Connect perform well in the key area of reliability should help strengthen its position as the biggest manufacturer in the UK van market.”

The Ford Transit came top of the van reliability survey with the Ford Transit Connect, retaining its second place from a year ago. In the manufacturer table, Ford moved up into the top spot ahead of Volkswagen, who also fell behind fellow German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, in what must be a disappointing result for VW.

Ford Transit Connect

The Ford Transit Connect came second in the FN50 survey to find the most reliable van in the UK.

Here are this year’s top ten most reliable vans (last year’s position in brackets):

1 Ford Transit (4)
2 Ford Transit Connect (2)
3 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (1)
4 Volkswagen Transporter (5)
5 Volkswagen Caddy (3)
6 Mercedes-Benz Vito
7 Vauxhall Vivaro
8 Renault Trafic
9 Vauxhall Movano
10 Citroen Berlingo

Top 10 most reliable van manufacturers (last year’s position in brackets*)

1 Ford (2)
2 Mercedes-Benz (3)
3 Volkswagen (1)
4 Vauxhall (-)
5 Citroen (-)
6 Renault (5)
7 Nissan
8 Peugeot
9 Fiat (4)
10 Toyota

(*2011 tables ranked only top five)

Those responding to the survey have a combined LCV fleet size of 160,000. The FN50 reliability survey is the largest study of its kind in the UK. For more information on the survey see www.fleetnews.com.

Ford Confirms Closure Of Southampton Transit Plant

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Ford Transit Custom International Van Of The Year 2013

The new Ford Transit Custom the first of four new commercial vehicles Ford plans to introduce over the next two years to overhaul its van offering.

Ford has confirmed that it is to close its UK Transit plant at Southampton and another UK manufacturing operation at Dagenham.

Following from yesterday’s announcement that it would close its plant in Genk, Ford has confirmed that its Southampton and Dagenham plants are also to close as part of a wide-ranging reorganisation intended to mirror the success of its North American reorganisation and return Ford Europe to profitability.

Ford Europe is currently expected to post a £930m loss in 2012.

What’s closing?

Ford currently makes Transit chassis cabs at its Southampton plant but the majority of Transits are now built in Turkey, and the Southampton factory only produced 28,000 vans last year — far below the normal capacity for such plants.

The closure at Dagenham will only affect stamping operations — the larger diesel engine plant at the same location will remain open.

Both Southampton and the Dagenham stamping facility will be shut in the next year.

Why’s it happening?

The European automotive industry is suffering from excess capacity. Ford’s plant closures are unlikely to be the last. As I’ve reported many times in recent months, demand for new vans has fallen since 2007. Similarly, Ford’s figures show that demand for cars in Western Europe has fallen by 20% over the last five years and Ford expects industry-wide sales to be flat, at best, next year.

Ford is losing money and needs to return to profitability — something it has already managed to do successfully in North America, where the car industry was suffering from a similar excess of capacity.

Unfortunately, it can make enough vehicles to meet demand with fewer factories than it has at present — and with no imminent sign of a major recovery, that’s what it’s going to do. Ford hopes it can limit redundancies to 1,100 by relocating 300 affected staff, but the closure will no doubt have a wider knock-on effect.

In France, the government has taken the opposite approach and offered Peugeot Citroen a £5.55bn state financing package on the basis that it puts back the planned closure of its Aulnay plant near Paris, which would save 6,500 jobs. However, this deal is not yet done and you could argue that it isn’t a great solution — more debt plus excess capacity isn’t likely to help Peugeot to return to profitability. What’s more, it is only three years since the French government last tried to bail out its car industry, when it provided Peugeot and Renault with €6bn of low-interest loans.

Given this, Ford’s sharp, decisive approach may well prove to be best in the long run, despite the job losses it will cause.

Ford To Launch New Courier Van – A Nemo Beater?

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Ford is to resurrect the Courier name when it launches the Transit Courier in 2014, to fill the size gap in its commercial vehicle range between the Fiesta van and the Transit Connect.

This small van sector of the market is hotly contested and extremely popular these days — think how many Citroen Nemo, Peugeot Bipper and Fiat Fiorino vans you see around, especially in town.

Full details haven’t been released yet but the press have been given a taster preview, which you can see in this video:

The Courier will be produced in Tourneo Courier and Transit Courier versions — i.e. people carrier and van models.

More to come at some point in the future — unfortunately the Transit Courier won’t hit UK showrooms until 2014.

Hat tip: VansA2Z.com

Ford Unveils New Transit & Transit Connect

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All-new Ford Transit

The new Ford Transit, due to go on sale in 2013

Ford has unveiled its all-new Transit and Transit Connect models, which it plans to sell in all global markets from late 2013.

The new models fit into the company’s van range above and below the Transit Custom, which is already on sale in the UK and Europe.

Here’s how the new range will fit together in the UK and Europe:

  • Ford Transit Connect (sub 1-tonne payload – small van)
  • Ford Transit Custom (1 tonne payload – medium van)
  • Ford Transit (1 tonne+ payload – large van)

The introduction of the new generation Transit and Transit Connect models is a major step in Ford’s commitment to completely redesign its entire commercial vehicle line-up for Europe by the end of 2013.

Ford Transit

The all-new Ford Transit replaces the heavier two-tonne Transit derivatives in Europe and other worldwide markets and will offer a comprehensive range of body styles and derivatives, with multiple wheelbases, roof heights and new chassis cowl versions.

In Europe, it will be available in front, rear and all-wheel drive specifications and will be powered by the latest 2.2-litre Duratorq TDCi diesel engine.

All-new Ford Transit Connect

The new Ford Transit Connect, due to go on sale in 2013

Ford Transit Connect

The new Ford Transit Connect will be available in a choice of short and long wheelbase versions, and Ford promises that this small van will feature the latest low-CO2 powertrain technologies and will deliver best-in-class fuel economy in all of its target markets.

In Europe, the engine line-up will include highly-efficient downsized diesel and petrol engines.

In Europe, deliveries of the all-new Transit and Transit Connect are due to start by the end of 2013.

There’s no word yet from Ford as to whether either of the new vans will be built in the UK, but hopefully Ford’s Southampton factory will continue to build some Transit models, as it does at present.

Update 17/07/2013: Ford has confirmed that its Southampton plant will cease production on July 26 2013, and will subsequently be closed.

New Ford Transit Custom Has Best Loadspace In Class

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The new Ford Transit Custom is now on sale

The new Ford Transit Custom has now gone on sale, with first deliveries expected in November.

The new Ford Transit Custom will offer the biggest loadspace in the one-tonne class, according to Ford, which says it will be bigger and better than any previous model, offering:

  • 6m³ SAE on short wheelbase model, 6.8m³ on LWB model
  • Widest side-loading door opening (1030mm)
  • Biggest width between wheel arches (1390mm)
  • Can carry three Euro pallets in SWB model (not possible in current Transit)
  • Load-through hatch to passenger compartment for long loads (e.g. pipes)

Brentwood’s finest will also offer a rather plush-looking cab, as this photo shows — it’s worlds apart from my Mk6 Transit!

Ford Transit Custom interior

Driver and passenger space in the new Transit Custom

Not just a pretty face!

Ford says that the new model is ready for use in any global market and has undergone a thorough and demanding testing regime. Kevin Strutt is supervisor CV durability, Ford of Europe:

“The Transit Custom may look stylish and car-like, but that doesn’t mean that we’ve given it an easier time during development and testing. The Transit has a hard-earned reputation for bullet-proof reliability, and we’re confident the new model will follow in the same tradition.”

The testing regime includes the ‘Trailer Tow General Durability’ test which condenses ten years’ use into six months of 24/7 testing, much of it with a fully-laden trailer. Other tests the Transit has passed include:

  • Maximum speed “Autobahn” test simulating non-stop flat-out German Autobahn driving for two months
  • Low-speed, stop-start city drive cycles to simulate the toughest urban delivery conditions, to prove out clutches, transmission, brakes and the latest Auto-Start-Stop technologies
  • Various extreme transmission tests such as “shift cycle” and “hot-rod” for the shift mechanism, and the “bump-stop” test that uses aggressive clutch engagement to introduce very high loads into the gearbox
  • “Figure of Eight” test, which lasts over a month, puts the wheels, hubs, bearings and steering gear through their paces
  • Front doors were slammed 250,000 times to test for durability

You can’t accuse them of lacking imagination! I can’t wait to see one on the road. Any chance of a loan, Ford?

Ford Joins FTA Van Excellence Scheme

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Ford has become the latest van manufacturer to join the Van Excellence scheme, which is run by the Freight Transport Association and aims to encourage high standards of van operation.

The blue oval joins Mercedes, VW, Nissan, Fiat and Isuzu in becoming partners in the scheme, meaning that more than half the vans sold in the UK are now made by Van Excellence partners. As Mark Cartwright, the FTA’s Head of Vans and LCVs explains, the next target for Van Excellence is van dealers:

“We’re delighted to welcome Ford as a Van Excellence Partner. Together with existing partners Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, FIAT and Isuzu our manufacturer partners now represent over half of the UK’s annual registrations. Their support is invaluable particularly as we develop a Van Excellence accreditation scheme for dealers.”

The FTA scheme was launched in 2010 to promote high standards of van operation and driving by accrediting operators against an industry code of good practice.

Accredited operators are those who have successfully demonstrated that their fleet management and compliance systems can meet the demanding standards of the Code of Van Excellence, the voluntary code of practice for van fleet operators.

The importance of Van Excellence continues to be well recognised within the industry and continues to grow, as new members which have also recently joined include Carillion Construction, South Devon Healthcare Trust, Daniel Contractors and Corporation of London.

Van Excellence was awarded the Best New Service Award at the 2012 Fleet News Awards.

Earlier this year, Hertz joined Van Excellence and individual van rental operators are welcome to join the scheme. You can find out more at www.vanexcellence.co.uk.

CV Show Roundup: Vans We Haven’t Seen Before

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It’s the CV Show this week at the Birmingham NEC, but most of the vans on display have been covered in these pages in recent weeks or are well-established models that you will probably already be familiar with.

Instead of an exhaustive roundup, I thought I would just feature some pictures of vans that are new or are unusual in some other way – including some more pictures of the stunning new Transit Custom!

So without further ado, here goes!

First up (in approximate alphabetical order), Chinese manufacturer DFSK was here in force, with Mini Vans of all shapes, but just one compact size:

DFSK Mini Van Tipper

DFSK Mini Van Tipper

DFSK Mini Van Crew Cab Dropside

DFSK Mini Van Crew Cab Dropside

DFSK Mini Van Minibus!

The DFSK Mini Van Minibus!

DFSK Mini Van Panel Van

DFSK Mini Van Panel Van - note the rather strange, BMW-esque radiator grill...

Next up, the delectable new Ford Transit Custom, which will go on sale in the UK sometime later this year:

Ford Transit Custom side shot

The new Transit Custom in a rather fetching shade of blue

Ford Transit Custom front shot

From the front, it could almost be a car...

Ford Transit Custom rear view

...while from behind, the Transit Custom looks rather like a Sprinter to me

Ford Transit Custom interior

Inside, the new Transit Custom is unmistakeably a Ford!

I don’t think I’ve featured the Hyundai iLoad before – nothing much to say other than it also comes in 8/9 seat minibus format and I have no doubt it will be as reliable and sensible as the company’s cars are:

Hyundai iLoad panel van

The Hyundai iLoad panel van, looking foxy in black

Nissan promised to launch its NV400 chassis cab range at the CV Show, so here’s an example in dropside tipper guise. The NV400 is of course based on the Renault Master and like the Master is quite thin on the ground so far, although I’m starting to see more of them around:

Nissan NV400 dropside tipper

Nissan NV400 dropside tipper from the company's range of off-the-shelf conversions

There were two new versions of the Peugeot Partner for fans of this popular van to drool over, a forthcoming electric version and a new ATV ‘all terrain’ version featuring the company’s Grip Control system.

Peugeot Partner ATV

The Peugeot Partner ATV - with the Grip Control traction system

Peugeot Partner Electric Van

Peugeot Partner Electric Van - coming soon...

Slightly out of order but none the worse for that is the impressive and probably very durable Mitsubishi Fuso Canter, in its new 4×4 guise:

Mitsubishi Fuso Canter 4x4

The new Mitsubishi Fuso Canter 4x4

A small van from a very big Indian name – the Tata Ace EV electric van made an appearance and also was also on display in dropside tipper format:

Tata Ace EV electric van

The Tata Ace EV electric van

Luton’s finest had a good range of vehicles on display, too, and as Vauxhall is near the end of the alphabet, you may be relieved to discover you are nearly at the end of this rather long post…

The new Combo looks set to be as successful as the previous model and comes in more, larger sizes than ever before:

Vauxhall Combo long wheelbase

The long wheelbase version of the new Vauxhall Combo - it also comes in a high roof model

Vauxhall Combo interior

Inside the new Combo; unmistakeably Vauxhall

Vauxhall Combo police van

Coming soon to a police station near you...

Finally, a treat for patriotic van buyers. It isn’t remotely new but it is still one of the most popular medium vans on the road – and it’s made in Britain. Yes, Vauxhall laid on a specially-wrapped Vauxhall Vivaro to remind visitors that it builds more vans in the UK than any other manufacturer:

Vauxhall Vivaro - built in Britain

Vauxhall Vivaro - built in Britain

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief look at some of the new or unusual vehicles on display at the CV Show.

There were, of course, countless other vans and lorries at the CV Show, but there is only so much that I can expect readers to look at, so I thought I would restrict myself to things you might not have seen before, plus a few favourites that deserve to be featured again.

Any comments on vans or the CV Show very welcome – the comment box below is all yours!

Electric Transit Connect Maker Azure Dynamics Shuts Down

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Azure Dynamics, the maker of the electric version of the Ford Transit Connect, has shut down its European operations and filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada.

The company, whose UK office was in Stevenage, was one of the first to have an electric van approved for the UK plug-in grant. It said that it had made 500 of the electric Transit Connects, of which about 240 had been sold in Europe. Ford UK said that only “a very small number” have been sold in the UK (including this one) and that it was currently trying to work out how to support customers who had purchased an Azure Dynamics vehicle.

We understand that the firm is being closed for restructuring and that those involved hope that it will be resurrected in some way, hopefully including the relationship with Ford.

For more information, visit www.azuredynamics.com.

New Fiestavan ECOnetic Delivers 85MPG

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Ford ECOnetic Technology badgeDo you need a small, car-derived van with outstanding fuel efficiency?

If you do, a Ford Fiestavan in updated ECOnetic Techology spec is probably the answer to your prayers.

Brentwood‘s finest have created a new über-ECOnetic spec, which will be badged as ECOnetic Technology. As the name suggests, it includes more technology than the standard ECOnetic.

The new ECOnetic Technology specification will cut the Fiestavan’s CO2 emissions from 95 to 87g/km and boost combined cycle fuel consumption to 85.6mpg.

Benefits of the ECOnetic Technology specification include:

  • Zero-rated VED
  • CO2 emissions of just 87g/km
  • Auto-Start-Stop
  • Upgrades to the 95PS 1.6TDCi engine including friction and combustion improvements and calibration optimisation
  • Revised gear ratios
  • Smart regenerative charging
  • EcoMode
  • Improved efficiency of the air conditioning, cooling fan and alternator

Ford FiestavanOriginal equipment fitted as standard to the Fiesta and FiestaVan ECOnetic, including rolling resistance tyres, an aero pack comprising undershield and wheel deflectors, variable flow oil pump and shift indicator light, is carried over on ECOnetic Technology models.

Every model in Ford’s Fiesta range emits less than 130g/km, meaning that whichever Fiesta model you end up choosing, you will pay no road tax in the first year of ownership.

Fiestavan ECOnetic prices start from £12,215. For more information, visit www.ford.co.uk.