Editorial

Volkswagen is one of the world’s best known marques, and a company, moreover, with a colourful history. Formed in 1930s Germany to design and produce an inexpensive ‘people’s car’ (the literal meaning of the name), it clung to life after World War II, producing the now iconic Beetle for the occupying British forces and the remains of the German Post Office. Sixty-four years later, it has overtaken Toyota to become the world’s largest car manufacturer, and is currently in the process of merging with Porsche, a company whom it shares some significant history: founder Dr Ferdinand Porsche also founded Volkswagen. Over those six decades, both Volkswagen cars and vans have acquired an iconic status and a firm place in the hearts and minds of motor enthusiasts around the world. Older models have a reputation for longevity and a lively cult following which owes something to the model’s association with 1960s counterculture. Every winter, US owners of first generation Volkswagen Transporter vans – nicknamed ‘Splitties’ due to their distinctive windscreens – still put their 40 plus year old vehicles through their paces driving 450 miles of challenging back roads from the town of Willits to Mount Shasta in California. The first generation Transporter van dates as far back as 1950 and was based on the design of the classic Beetle car. Volkswagen continued to produce the so-called T1 until 1968, when the second generation first appeared, nicknamed the ‘Breadloaf’, or ‘Bay-Window’ in reference to its new style of windshield. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is currently in a nostalgic mood, and has created special exhibitions to mark two Transporter-related anniversaries at its AutoMuseum in Wolfsburg, Germany. Until the end of December, special displays will mark the 60th anniversary of the first prototype Transporter and 30 years since the groundbreaking third generation Transporter. The latter, with its distinctive square edges, was one of the last Volkswagen vehicles to use the once standard rear-mounted, air-cooled engine, which was not phased out until the launch of the fourth generation Transporter, the T4, in 1984. The memorabilia-rich exhibits include the actual Transporter prototype - a Dove Blue panel van - and the ‘Beck’s Bus’, a converted T1 which features a built-in bar for serving cold beer. The Transporter remains Volkswagen’s best-selling van model. Over ten million have been sold since the range entered production in March 1950. The current generation, the fifth or T5, first appeared in January 2003. The T5 is available in eight basic variations: • Panel Van – a basic delivery model with no side windows or rear seats. • Highroof Panel Van – a delivery van model with a raised roof. • Half-panel – this van model features side windows in the front half of the cargo area and one row of removable rear seats. • Pick-up – a flatbed truck. • Crew Cab Pick-up – a flatbed truck with a double cab and two rows of seats. • Kombi – a van with side windows and removable rear seats. • Shuttle – a nine-seater minibus. • Sportline – a high end van featuring  18” alloy wheels and 174 PS  Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) diesel engines generating torque of 400 newton metres at 2,000 rpm - once dubbed the “fastest van in Britain” by TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson. Built to order variations for use as taxis and emergency service vehicles are also available, as well as a cab chassis for use in coach construction. In addition to these basic options, more than 100 customisations are available – for example, short, medium or long wheelbases, or low, medium and high rooflines. The T5 is also the basis for a range of Volkswagen people movers – the Kombi, Shuttle, Caravelle and Multivan, as the ‘California’ and ‘California Beach’ motorhomes. In September, Volkswagen unveiled a new version of the T5 range, for launch in January. Volkswagen dealers and Van Centres have already begun to accept orders. Vans from the range feature new styling, and a range of quieter 2.0-litre, four-cylinder Euro5 common rail TDI engines, which combine greater power and torque levels with improved fuel efficiency. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles claims the new engine range is no less than 20 per cent more fuel-efficient. Service intervals have been extended by 7,000 miles, to a maximum of 25,000 miles. A brand new kombi model features a folding and removable rear bench seat with capacity for a load and up to six people in the rear. This is based on an extremely popular option available for the current range. Also new is a seatbelt warning system, which alerts drivers if they fail to belt up;, a tyre pressure monitoring system; the option to deactivate the passenger seat airbag if a child seat is fitted; a dual clutch transmission system named Direct-Shift Gearbox (DSG); advanced touchscreens; and a reversing camera. Will enthusiasts be racing lovingly maintained 2010 T5s down California back roads in 40 years time? We wouldn’t bet against it!  ...

Autumn – ‘tis the season of mists, mellow fruitfulness ...and industry awards. Two of the biggest events in the van calendar took place in September and October: the Fleet Van Awards 2009 and the announcement of the ACFO Fleet Car and Vans of the Year Awards. The big wigs, big cheeses and movers and shakers of the van world gathered at each event to applaud the real stars: the vans themselves. This year’s Fleet Van Awards, held at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham during the magazine’s annual conference, were the third to be held. With the theme of this year’s conference strategies and efficiencies to help the van world to move out of recession, “without compromising business performance or safety”, it was perhaps not surprising to see robust and familiar names scooping prizes at a ceremony attended by 60 van fleet industry leaders, including managers, manufacturers and suppliers. The Citroen Berlingo was the big winner of the night, being named both Small Van of the Year and overall Van of the Year. The Ford Fiesta van was named City Van of the year and the Volkswagen Transporter top medium panel van. The versatile Citroen Berlingo, which pipped the “highly commended” Ford Transit Connect and Renault Kangoo to the title, has gained a firm place in the hearts of van users since its original launch in 1996. Currently available in four van models – the First, the Panel Van, the L2 Panel Van, and the Platform Cab – this popular vehicle is one of the UK’s best selling vans. The Ford Fiesta van, meanwhile, is a smooth and manoeuvrable option with low running costs and a typical fuel consumption of just 67.3mpg. It is available in three varieties: the Fiesta Van, the Trend and the SportVan. The highly commended runners up for the city van award were the Citroen Nemo and the Fiat Fiorino. The Volkswagen Transporter took the medium panel prize from the Ford Transit 2.6-2.8 and Mercedes Benz Vito. It is an industry veteran, having been manufactured in various forms since as long ago as 1950! Nowadays, it is available as a panel model, as a chassis or double cab van, a window van, sportline or conversion. Meanwhile, winners of this year’s ACFO Fleet Car and Vans of the Year Awards were announced in October, although the presentation is not to take place until November 20, at a ceremony in London. Was the Ford Transit Connect being named Fleet Light Van of the Year for the seventh year running the unavoidable commendation of such a fixture of the van world, a shock or the rather predictable return of an old favourite? You decide. But one very new element on the ACFO awards list was the equal billing given to the Volkwagen Caddy. This tied with the Transit for the title of Fleet Light Van of the Year for the first time in the award’s 26-year history. Meanwhile, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter won the Fleet Panel Van of the Year Award, snatching the title from the Ford Transit, which had held onto the title for a full 14 years. Julie Jenner is Chair of ACFO. She said: “The quality of the vehicles available to fleets is further underlined by the fact that the Transit Connect and the Caddy scored equal votes giving the first tie in the history of the awards and the Sprinter narrowly overhauling the iconic Transit.” The ACFO Awards are based on members’ actual experiences of various vehicles over the previous 12 months, so they represent a genuine accolade from real world customers. This year’s event was the first to feature online voting, explained Julie Jenner. "The 2009 Awards in many ways mark a sea-change. Our decision to move to an online voting process has been rewarded with members voting in record numbers for their vehicles of the year, which is very pleasing and underlines the importance our members attach in sending a signal to manufacturers of their views on current model line-ups.” It would be hard to find a bigger icon of the van world than the Ford Transit, which has been the single biggest selling LCV in Europe for a full 40 years. The current Mark 7 model, launched in 2006, was extensively redesigned and even featured new low-emission powertrains derived from the Ford Ranger, and high pressure common rail systems. Ford also took the opportunity to launch the new Ford Transit Sport, with styling trims and 18-inch alloy wheels. Overall, no less than 35 different van models received at least one vote. Julie Jenner added: "Additionally, the fact that a total of 40 cars and 35 vans all scored at least one vote underlines the breadth of models that are applicable for business use and the importance of the fleet sector to a wide range of motor manufacturers. Only a few years ago the Awards were dominated by just a handful of manufacturers and a similar number of models, but that has changed significantly as all mainstream car and van makers look to get their vehicles on to fleet choice lists." It has been a tough year for the motor industry as a whole, but the vans sector has been hit harder than most, whilst remaining a central component of British industry. Everyday fleet van managers grapple with a host of challenges, finding new business, hiring staff, paying road and business tax, ensuring that their drivers are safe, drive legally and meet their quotas. But no matter how hard they work, or how dedicated they are to customer service, they would go out of business in a day if they could not rely on their vehicles.  ...

Ask any white van man what their favourite commercial vehicles is and the majority would probably fall on their knees swearing their undying love for the legendary Ford Transit or the nimble and award-winning Citroen Berlingo, along with a variety of other van models from two of our favourite manufacturers, Ford and Citroen. We at Vansunited.co.uk love both models, and not just because of the endless array of features they offer, which integrate perfectly into and enhance the daily working lives of any LCV driver, but because the Ford Transit has been around, well, since the beginning of time where the vans industry is concerned and the Citroen Berlingo has consistently impressed since its launch in 1995.  Now we like to think we already know everything about vans and their innermost secrets, and how to get the dedicated van buyer or seller the best product for the best price, but every so often, we like to stop, take a breath, and explore the past, present and most importantly, future, of two of simply the best LCVs out there. The Citroen Berlingo dominated the recent Fleet Van Awards 2009, scooping the Van of the Year and Small Van awards, while Ford and its Ford Transit Connect also did handsomely, earning Van Manufacturer of the Year and a Small Van commendation respectively.  So if the van industry was a movie, these are our two Hollywood A-listers jostling for position. Introducing our first star... “Its name has become so well known that Transit has become synonymous for van in many languages,” according to its maker, Ford commercial vehicles. We don’t want to be unfair to all the other LCV heroes on the market, but we are big fans of the Transit van, which, its proud parent claims, sets “the benchmark for all vans”. Since the original version parked itself firmly in the streets and hearts of Europe in 1965, the Transit has remained the best-selling LCV on the Continent. The current van model is available as a panel van, minibus, double cab-in van, and a range of chassis cabs, with different body styling and colour options. All come with an attractive range of features as standard. It impresses with its ergonomically designed interior styling to improve productivity and profitability, and with driving safety features such as the Hill Launch Assist mechanism to prevent the vehicle from rolling backwards during a hill start. Optional comfort features include air conditioning and Bluetooth with an exciting voice control feature. Other additions include two environmentally-friendly innovations. The Shift Indicator Light illuminates during drives to indicate when a gear change would save fuel, while a coated diesel particulate filter (cDPF) is designed to reduce soot emissions in diesel Transits, especially those which are regularly driven within city centres. The Berlingo, by contrast, first appeared in 1996, thirty years after the Transit. Since its launch, the range’s emphasis on robust construction and no-nonsense design has won it an increasing number of fans. The current range consists of the Berlingo First, the Berlingo Panel Van, the Berlingo L2 Panel Van, and the Berlingo Platform Cab. One of the larger compact van models, the Berlingo range offers payloads up to around 850kg, with gross vehicle weights varying between 1,960kg and 2,130kg, depending on styling, while 1.6 litre HDi diesel engines are standard. Buyers can choose between a 75bhp unit with torque of 185Nm at 1,750rpm, and a 90bhp version with 215Nm, also at 1,750rpm. Both diesel variants boast a strong fuel economy rate of 48.5mpg. Other standard features on the various Berlingos include a trip computer, electric front windows, internally adjustable door mirrors,, an external temperature sensor, and even a Trafficmaster Smartnav satellite navigation and vehicle tracking system. Buyers who regularly drive on rough surfaces can also choose a special all-road pack, which provides larger tyres and under-body protection. However iconic the Ford Transit, Citroen has been particularly successful at creating a sense of loyalty amongst its van-buying customers, despite their minority status in comparison to the car-buying mass market, and the company has been rewarded with healthy sales: one in seven Citroen models sold across Europe is an LCV. Citroen’s success at the prestigious Fleet Van Awards, which are judged by a panel of fleet operators and independent van experts, certainly suggests that the the Berlingo is doing something right. There is no doubt of the Berlingo’s versatility: its market position places it in competition with smaller panel vans from other manufacturers, as well as with direct competitors like the Ford Transit. Of course there cannot be any clear winner in this particular battle of the vans. Ford and Citroen’s ranges both cater to the demanding van buyer but their choice in the end come down to their specific needs and priorities. But what a choice!  ...

It’s been a tough year for the van industry. Since the current recession began last year, commercial vehicle sales have fallen month after month, fuel prices have fluctuated wildly and major manufacturers have teetered on the edge of bankruptcy But the doom and gloom is not universal. One sector of the motoring industry has, surprisingly (or unsurprisingly!) done much better than expected: the used vehicle market. As Louise Wallis, head of the Society of Motor Auctions, recently told Fleet Directory: “Sellers at motor auctions have enjoyed the best possible conditions over recent months, with reduced supply and good demand from buyers, resulting in high conversion rates and strong prices.” According to CAP, the Ford Transit accounts for as much as a third of all used panel van sales. CAP current valuation manager Ken Brown told Fleet News: “As a result of this, any models in reasonable condition are sure to attract strong bids, especially when in metallic paint.” Condition is the single most decisive factor in the used van market, notes CAP, with demand strongest for used vehicles in excellent condition with enhancements. Visible damage and poor preparation can scupper panel van auctions, it adds. According to Alex Wright, Sales Director for Manheim Auctions: “We are now well into the seasonal period when values traditionally harden. This period usually begins as early as May yet throughout June and July we have seen consistently strong attendances both in the auctions halls and online with healthy bidding and high conversion rates. The marginal fall in average wholesale used van values of just 0.6 per cent in July, following a fall of 0.5 per cent in June, leads us to believe that there is still an underlying strength in the wholesale used van market.” Manheim has also benefitted from the increasing popularity of online buying, selling according to a recent press release, as many used vans and trucks via the internet in the first six months of 2009 as it did over the whole of 2008. Over that period, 15.2 per cent (6,017) of the 40,000 vans and trucks sold by the company attracted online bids, and only a little less than half that were sold to online buyers (7.1 per cent or 2,820 vehicles). Rival auction house British Car Auctions saw a rise of 2.8 per cent (£100) in average used van values of July. Motor industry information specialists Eurotaxglass take the same view – that the used van market is booming. Commercial vehicle editor George Alexander says: “Nearly every tidy van up to 2.8 tonnes is proving popular, with the relationship between supply and demand being in balance.” So what’s driving the used van boom? Belt-tightening in response to the recession has undoubtedly played a role, with fleets economising and offloading excess vehicles onto the used market. Increased supply (over supply from some perspectives) has acted as an incentive, with a rich choice boosting the numbers of price-conscious van and vehicle buyers flooding into the showrooms and auction houses. Meanwhile, the picture remains one of gloom at the new end of the sector. Over the last year, we have seen the collapse of once established names like LDV, while other international manufacturers have struggled with plunging sales. Recent figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed that van sales over the first half of 2008 were 45 per cent down on the same period last year. Vauxhall alone saw a 48 per cent drop in sales over the first half of 2009, followed by Ford and Citroen (both down 42 per cent). Volkswagen is not far behind, with a 36 per cent drop in sales. Commenting on the bleak figures, SMMT Chief Executive Paul Everitt said: “The commercial vehicle market continues to reflect the very difficult conditions facing business buyers, particularly those in the freight transport and construction sectors.” However, van registrations may cease to tumble by the end of the year, he added, but if they do, it will be at the lowest levels since the early 1990s. Even the much discussed scrappage discount scheme has failed to lift the dark clouds hanging over new van sales. As recently as mid-July, just 325 vans had been sold under the scheme. Ford has been the biggest winner from the scrappage scheme, having sold 200 vans and commercial vehicles by mid-July - compared with 12,000 cars. The runners-up were Mercedes-Benz, with 147 sales, Volkswagen with 83, and Peugeot with 80. Renault had sold 58, Vauxhall 30 and Iveco just seven. Industry figures blame the van sector’s sluggish response to the scrappage scheme on the ten year cut-off date: only vehicles over that age are eligible. LCVs are typically worked much harder than cars, and this intensive usage wears them out more quickly they claim. Consequently, there are far fewer ten-year-old vans on the road. In the words of SMMT Commercial Vehicle Manager Robin Dickeson: "In respect to [commercial vehicles], the scheme is imperfect and would be more relevant if it was set at seven years." There can be little doubt that the recession has had a devastating effect on the motor industry, both at home and abroad. How cheering then, to read recent reports that the worst may already be over. Earlier this week, amidst reports of an upsurge in business and investor confidence, Michael Izza, Chief Executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, went as far as to tell the BBC: “...the UK recession is at an end.” Could a brighter dawn for the motor industry be close?  ...

The Department for Transport (DfT) launches widespread consultation into the hours van drivers across Great Britain can work. ...

This has not been an easy year for the company once known as Leyland Daf Vans. Not a single Maxus van has rolled off LDV’s Washwood Heath production line since December, and the first half of 2009 proved to be a not-so-merry-go-round of discussions with sceptical would-be buyers and fraught negotiations with a government reluctant to part with the cash needed to keep the company going.   It looked for a while as though Weststar, a Malaysian motor manufacturer, was all set to save the day. Negotiations to buy the Birmingham firm reached an advanced stage – and then collapsed. The necessary credit could not be obtained. LDV went into administration, hundreds of staff lost their jobs. It looked like it was all over. But perhaps...not quite yet. Last week came the unexpected news that Weststar is “almost certain” to make a second bid for LDV – what remains of it anyway – now that administrators are in place to protect the new buyers from the firm’s former creditors. If Sky News is correct and Weststar does make a return to the negotiating table, it will come too late for the LDV staff who have already lost their jobs, joining the dole queues in an already disadvantaged part of Britain’s second largest city. So has LDV, a company with a history stretching back, via multiple name changes and buy-outs, to the Wolseley Motor Company almost 100 years ago, finally come to the end of the road? Time will tell. A new Weststar bid may come with guarantees not to “lift and shift” the firm’s assets to Malaysia. After so many months of uncertainty, such an agreement would be welcome news. British jobs would be saved and a veteran of the UK’s motor industry will live to fight another day. Or it may not. If what remains of LDV does get packed up in boxes and shipped to Kuala Lumpur, what will be left of the UK’s once dynamic van industry? The answer is, not much. Once dominated by Ford, production of the iconic Transit is set to be transferred to Turkey, while the future of Vauxhall Vans in Luton remains uncertain after Vauxhall’s recent sale to a consortium centred around Canadian manufacturer Magna International. As LDV slid towards administration, its increasingly desperate managers pleaded with the government for financial assistance, citing exciting plans for electric van models and pointing out the much higher costs of a surge in benefit claims from jobless workers and a further economic downturn in one of Birmingham’s poorer areas. So why didn’t the government listen? Yes, it offered a bridging loan to assist Weststar’s plans, but the willingness of other governments to invest billions in the protection of troubled manufacturing industries was noticeable by its absence. Compare and contrast President Obama’s efforts to save General Motors in the US. Gordon Brown’s government was all too willing to help the banks, but as we all know, they are more important than old manufacturing industries these days. Quality physical products count for less than intangible zeros on a computer screen.  ...

In the days and weeks after the Budget, focus turns to how changes in fuel costs are affecting the man in the van and the best and worst ways of tackling them....

The term 'white van man' was unwittingly coined by BBC Radio 2 presenter Sarah Kennedy, after she lamented being "cut up" on her way to work by a white van. ...

Had someone described the concept of satellite navigation (sat nav) to a delivery driver or cabbie 20 years ago, it would have seemed like a miracle. A device that could direct drivers to their chosen destination, while highlighting speed cameras and traffic jams along the way. Perfect....

The Ford Transit is the world's most famous van, manufactured by the world's third largest automaker....