Modec Zero Emission Electric Van

The government-funded trials of electric vans I wrote about back in November 2008 look set to get started in the reasonably near future, according an article published by Fleet News today.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has produced a list of approved electric vehicle suppliers, from which participating businesses can purchase or lease electric vans. Government grants will compensate for the extra cost of the electric vehicles over their diesel equivalents. The three main suppliers are Modec, Smith Electric Vehicles and Allied Vehicles. A hybrid conversion company, Ashwoods, has also been included.

Organisations taking part in the scheme include Royal Mail, Metropolitan Police, the Environment Agency and HMRC, as well as some local authorities.

Source: Fleet News

Renault Trafic - Britain's Most Secure Van?

The Renault Trafic has added another award to its impressive collection – the British Insurance Vehicle Security Award in the Heavy Van category.

It’s the first time that vans have been eligible for the awards, which are based on the industry-standard New Vehicle Security Ratings. The Trafic comes out top thanks to its remarkable level of factory-fit security – which certainly puts my 2001 Transit to shame.

According to Renault, the Trafic comes with security features including anti-drill door locks and barrels, Thatcham category 1 alarm and immobiliser system, remote central locking with deadlocking, full steel bulkheads and R.A.I.D. (Renault Anti Intruder Device), which automatically locks all the vehicles doors once travelling above 5 mph. A three-button key with selective door opening is also available as an option, to combat opportunistic thieves while the vehicle is being unloaded.

LDV duly went into administration recently – following the withdrawal of Malaysian suitors Weststar from a proposed rescue deal.

However, that isn’t likely to be the end of the story. No one wants to pay more than they have to when buying a company and by waiting until LDV went into administration, potential buyers such as Weststar stand to get a much better deal than they would have done previously.

The risk in holding out for the best possible deal, however, is that someone else might beat you to it. In Weststar’s case, the other possible party is Connaught – a company that produces a pioneering aftermarket hybrid conversion kit for vans. The system has been tested by the RAC and is said to produce fuel savings of around 20%.

Connaught’s interest in LDV seems bold but the synergies are obvious – it could sell factory-converted hybrid vans at virtually no cost over the standard vehicle. This would be a unique offering in the mainstream van market at present.

In addition, LDV had reportedly already developed an electric version of the Maxus, providing Connaught with a good basis for developing an all-electric van to compete with existing offerings from the likes of Modec and Smith Electric Vehicles.

Fuel costs and CO2 emissions are increasingly important to van operators, as business conditions remain tough and regulation relating to emissions gets tighter.

Until last year, van manufacturers were extremely reluctant to publish fuel consumption and CO2 emissions data for their vehicles, claiming (with some truth) that they varied too widely depending on usage and loading.

The government, however, was having none of that and insisted that this information be made public. The result can be seen here, on the VCA’s (Vehicle Certification Agency) website. – a free, easy to use and comprehensive database of new van emissions and official fuel consumption figures.

(There was an similar database published by the BVLRA in December 2008, but it seems to have disappeared from their website)

Although these are only official figures, measured under test conditions, at least they are calculated in the same way for each van, so should provide some kind of meaningful comparison.

To access the new VCA Van Data Tool, click here.

‘Swappage’ – No Trade-in required

For van owners, the problem with the government’s scrappage scheme was that there aren’t many vans over 10 years old on the roads. Furthermore, the scheme prevented anyone taking part who intended to finance the van using an ‘off balance sheet’ method – an approach favoured by many van operators.

Mercedes-Benz has decided to help these poor souls potential customers out by offering its own ‘Swappage’ scheme – where buyers can get £2,000 off the price of a new Sprinter 311CDi – the most popular model – regardless of how they finance it or whether they have anything to trade in.

Mercedes is meeting the cost of this itself, as it doesn’t qualify for governement scrappage payments, and is offering three finance/acquisition methods for potential buyers – operating lease, contract purchase and regular finance.

For more details, see the RoadTransport.com report here.

LDV Going Down The Pan?

It seemed like they might have had (yet another) saviour, but with the news that Malaysian company Weststar has pulled out of a deal to purchase LDV, the future looks bleak for the Birmingham-based company.

While I don’t like to see manufacturing (or any other) jobs disappearing in the UK, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that LDV just doesn’t deserve to be saved. They haven’t made a profit since time began, and their vans are, frankly, a little bit cheap and cheerful and behind the times.

To be honest, I’d rather that the money the government might spend on LDV is invested in other, already successful van enterprises – like Modec, Smith Electric Vehicles and even Vauxhall, if necessary.

Better still, I’d rather the government didn’t prop up every loss making automotive company unless there was a good reason to.

It seems that Halfords is currently running a 5% discount code for online purchases.

The code is AFF5APR and it is valid until 16th June 2009.

The discount offer applies to almost all products, except the usual suspects – sat nav, alloys, mp3/iPod and gift vouchers.

Remember, it’s only valid on online purchases made before 16/06/2009 – so if you are planning a purchase, check out Halfords’ prices now to see if you can save money.

Remember Papa & Nicole – the series of television adverts that helped make the Renault Clio sexy?

Meet The Laitier (the milkman). Driving a 1901 Renault van, he looks set to do for Renault vans what that loved-up couple did for the Clio.

It’s all part of Renault’s first van television advertising campaign.

The advert is going to be shown on national television later this year – as part of the build up to the launch of the new Renault Master (the current model is visible on the left of the photo).

At present, it’s only viewable online – but I would highly recommend taking yourself to Renault’s van site to have a look. It will be a minute well spent!

Does your company offer specialist van hire services?

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National Van Rental is currently offering some great deals on van rental – with prices starting from just £19.99 per day. Here’s what’s on offer:

If you are looking for car hire instead*, National is also currently offering a free upgrade on UK car hire – simply book an Economy, Compact or Intermediate car and only pay for the car class below.

*All of the offers above are subject to Terms & Conditions and are available for limited periods.

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If your company offers self-drive minibus hire, then we may be able to help.

MyLocalVanHire.co.uk started out as a van hire site but has expanded into minibus hire. We currently rank #1 in Google for the search term ‘minibus hire’ and have a rapidly expanding minibus hire branch database.

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