Vauxhall Tops UK Van Production League

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Vauxhall Vivaro at Vauxhall's Luton factoryVauxhall produces more vans in the UK than any other manufacturer, making 60% of the commercial vehicles which are built in the UK.

The vast majority of these (57%) are Vauxhall Vivaro vans, which are built at the company’s Luton plant. The remainder of Vauxhall’s UK van production takes place at its Ellesmere Port plant (near Liverpool), where Astravans are built on the Astra production line.

In 2011, 64% of UK-built Vivaros were exported to Europe, highlighting the fact that despite public perception, Britain has a thriving motor industry that exports a substantial number of vehicles every year.

Ford is probably the next largest producer of light commercial vehicles in the UK, with many Transit models continuing to be made at its Southampton plant, despite the fact that some Transit models are now made in Turkey. Both Transit and Vivaro have always been popular choices with van hire companies and this trend looks set to continue, with the latest Transit update receiving excellent reviews and a new model Vivaro due to go into production in less than two years.

Citroen Berlingo Wins ITM ‘Best LCV 2012’ Award

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Citroen Berlingo 2012 modelThe Citroen Berlingo has won the Institute of Transport Management’s ‘Best LCV [Light Commercial Vehicle] 2012’ award.

The ITM’s criteria for the award said that the winner had to “embody perennially important qualities such as reliability, cost-effectiveness and durability.”

The ITM judges were particularly impressed by the Berlingo’s environmental credentials:

“Businesses are looking for LCVs that are lighter, with lower emissions and better fuel efficiency, qualities that the Citroën Berlingo range has in spades.  In particular, the Citroën Berlingo e-HDI Airdream* models are equipped with e-HDi micro-hybrid Stop & Start technology.”

In addition, they also noted that the Berlingo “has all the equipment and space of a light commercial van” but “drives like a car”. It is the latest in a series of awards for the current Berlingo model, which has now been updated to include a range of Euro 5 engines and is also available as a chassis cab with Citroen’s Ready To Run body conversions.

The Citroen Berlingo is a popular choice with van rental companies in the small van category and has also been very successful with fleets.

*Citroen’s Airdream system is a combined regenerative power and start-stop system that is available on selected van models. Berlingo Airdream vans have Stop & Start with an advanced micro-hybrid starter/generator to restart the engine quickly and smoothly and incorporate regenerative braking to recover and store energy that would otherwise be lost.

Europcar Launches New Hourly Van Hire Service

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Europcar logoEuropcar has launched a new hourly van hire service, available at all UK van hire branches except airports.

This is not the first time that Europcar has offered hourly van hire in the UK, but the service has not been available for some time.

Here are the details of Europcar’s new hourly van hire service:

  • Available at all UK branches except airports
  • Available for checkouts Monday-Friday (Mon-Wed only in Central London)
  • Van hire prices start from £11 per hour (as of 24/01/2012)
  • Minimum hire 2 hours, maximum hire 8 hours

Hourly van hire is a popular request by visitors to vanrental.co.uk and is an extremely useful service for quick local journeys – delivering furniture or DIY goods, for example.

Commenting on the new service, Ken McCall, Managing Director of Europcar UK Group said:

“… we know that some motorists may be put off by having to commit to the cost of a full day’s hire, which has always been the traditional way this service has been charged.

With our new Hourly Hire Service we wanted to break the rules to give motorists more flexibility – and take away the barrier of cost.”

This new service means that Europcar joins Hertz in providing hourly car and van hire services across the UK – for full details of both services, visit our Hourly Van Hire page.

Is This The End Of Car-Derived Vans?

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Peugeot 207 Van

The Peugeot 207 Van is soon to be discontinued

Car-derived vans such as the Vauxhall Corsavan and Ford Fiesta Van have been around for years. They have never been big sellers but have maintained a niche presence servicing the needs of people who really do need a very small van.

One other regular in the very small van parc has been Peugeot, with its 206 and 207 Van models. The 207 car is shortly due to be replaced by the 208 and the French company has announced that it will not produce a van version of the 208.

Peugeot told What Van? that UK sales of the 207 Van, which have never been high, have fallen from a peak of 970 units in 2008 to about 250 in 2011. In addition, the 207 Van competes with Peugeot’s own Bipper van, a highly successful, modern compact van model which sold 5,000 units in the UK in 2011 and which is far more versatile than the 207 Van, without having significantly higher running costs.

According to What Van?, Peugeot’s spokesman also indicated that a 208 Van model might not be compatible with Peugeot’s aim to take their cars upmarket.

Although both Ford and Vauxhall continue to produce car-derived small vans, neither of these manufacturers have a compact van in their ranges equivalent to the Peugeot Bipper. One wonders whether they will persist with the car-derived van format or whether they will introduce new compact van models to replace their car-derived models – which have limited appeal due to their very small loadspaces.

Win A One Dry Wash Car Valeting Kit – Competition

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One Dry Wash Car Valeting Kit

The One Dry Wash Valeting Kit includes a bottle of One Dry Wash, Tyre Shine, Interior Wipes, Microfibre cloths and a detailing brush

Waterless car wash products are becoming increasingly popular in the UK as people realise how, quick, easy to use and convenient they are – often far more so than washing with soap and water before polishing.

One Dry Wash is the best waterless wash product we’ve tried and we are very pleased to have five One Dry Wash Complete Valeting Kits to give away in our latest competition.

One Dry Wash provides a just polished shine for paintwork, glass, chrome and painted plastic and is completely safe on all exterior surfaces.

One 500ml bottle will clean a car or small van several times and you only need two microfibre cloths (supplied in this kit) to wipe the dirt off and then buff to a shine.

I freely admit that it sounds too good to be true – but it really does work and achieves excellent results. It is also an ideal accessory to have when you are on the road and want to keep your windows and bonnet free of flies, dust and dirt.

Click here to enter our competition to win a One Dry Wash Car Valeting Kit

(Entries close 10th February 2012 at 2pm UK time.)

Sixt Opens New Manchester Van Hire Branch

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Sixt logoSixt has opened a new van hire branch in Manchester.

The location offers a full range of cars and vans and is located at on Ducie Street (M1 2JL), close to Manchester Piccadilly Rail Station.

The new branch is open 7 days a week, including bank holidays:

  • Monday – Friday 08:00 – 19:00
  • Saturday 08:00 – 17:00
  • Sunday 09:00 – 16:00
  • On bank holidays 09:00 – 16:00

For full details of this branch, including a map, click here.

Click here for a full list of Manchester van hire locations.

Iveco Announces DriveAway Ready-Built Conversions

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Iveco Daily dropside or tipper conversionIveco has announced that it will launch a range of conversion options for new Daily chassis cab and chassis crew cab models in the first quarter of 2012.

The options will be available through the DriveAway scheme and will mean that customers needing body conversions will be able to order specify these bodies when they order their vehicles, rather than having to source them from third-party body builders. Luton, dropside and tipper bodies will be available under the DriveAway scheme in both single cab and crew cab variants.

Most other light commercial vehicle manufacturers already operate such schemes and Iveco’s move is in response both to customer demand and to the impending European Whole Vehicle Type Approval legislation, which applies to all new vehicle types registered from October 2011 and to all existing vehicle types from April 2013.

Since the launch of the new Daily in September 2011, Iveco has received orders for 11,000 vehicles, including a significant number of chassis cab units, highlighting demand for ready-built conversions.

Electric Vans Now Eligible For Plug-In Grants

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The government has announced that plug-in grant scheme for electric cars has been extended to include electric vans.

This means that buyers will get 20% off the price of a plug-in electric van, up to a maximum of £8,000.

Eligibility criteria for vans include:

  • Vans must new and have a gross weight of under 3.5t
  • Tailpipe CO2 emissions of 75g/km or less
  • Minimum range of 60 miles for fully electric vans or 10 miles on electric power for plug-in hybrid vans
  • Maximum speed of at least 50mph
  • A 3-year vehicle and drivetrain warranty.

You can see full details of eligibility requirements here, on the DfT website. The grant is only available to vans which are on the DfT’s approved list – van manufacturers can submit their vans for approval at any time and the deadline for inclusion on the initial list is 31st January 2012.

Commenting on the decision, Transport Minister Norman Baker said:

“Electric vehicles are the arrowhead for a low carbon revolution in motoring and as more models come to market we’ll begin to see sales gather pace.

“Car buyers have had a year to take advantage of our grant and now it’s time for van buyers to get their chance to go electric. This is great news for businesses given the lower running costs of these vehicles – fleet buyers tell us that this is one of the most important factor influencing their decision on what to buy.”

 

Use Van Hire To Save On Record Diesel Prices

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Diesel prices are set to reach record levels in January, with fuel retailers already reeling from a 4.5p per litre rise in the cost they pay per litre over the Christmas period.

Further rises are likely before the end of January and the petrol division of the Retail Motor Industry (RMI Petrol) believes that the average forecourt price for a litre of diesel will soon top its all-time record of 143p. Industry experts are pinning the blame on Iran’s threat to hold a demonstration in the Strait of Hormuz and tightening capacity as cash-strapped refineries shut down.

For van operators, it is a good time to tighten up on heavy-footed drivers and ensure that multiple journeys are consolidated into one wherever possible. It may also be a good time to consider disposing of older vans, especially if their fuel consumption is poor when compared to new models.

Van hire can provide the ideal solution in this scenario: using a hire van to replace an older van for a week or two will provide a good insight into the difference in fuel consumption between the two models, although drivers need to play ball and concentrate on optimising fuel consumption, rather than revelling in the improved performance offered by the latest van models…

To provide an example of how van fuel consumption has improved over the last 10 years, here are fuel consumption figures for Mk5, Mk6 and the latest Mk7 Ford Transits:

  • I owned a  Mk5 (1999) Ford Transit – average consumption 30mpg
  • I replaced it with a Mk6 (2001) Ford Transit 100T280 – average consumption 36mpg
  • The current (2012) Mk7 Ford Transit Econetic (same body/power as my Mk6) has an official combined fuel consumption figure of 43.5mpg if fitted with the optional 62mph speed limiter

The savings could really add up for anyone doing more than nominal mileage – why not hire a van for a week and find out how your business would benefit?

To compare van hire prices from major UK van rental companies, click here.

Hammersmith Flyover Now Open For Vans

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The Hammersmith flyover (on the A4 into West London) has now reopened to van traffic, with a 2.0m (6′ 6″) width restriction in place to ensure that nothing larger tries to use the bridge.

The flyover is still restricted to one lane in either direction, however, and the general traffic chaos caused by the partial closure of this arterial route continues – avoid it if at all possible.

In case you missed it, the Hammersmith flyover, which is on the A4, was closed on 23rd December 2011 when Transport for London discovered it was about to collapse… Presumably someone will get a bonus for operating such a masterful preventative maintenance strategy.

The A4 is one of the main routes into London, not least to and from Heathrow Airport. It will remain partially closed for at least four months and although it will be open during the London Olympics, it will need to be closed again afterwards to complete the repair work.