Story: COLIN DAWSON Business van buyers in the Dundee area have a new Mercedes-Benz truck and van dealership in the city. Western Commercial, the Mercedes-Benz truck and van dealer for Scotland’s Central Belt, has been awarded the franchise for Dundee in a major extension to its existing operations. Western Commercial, part of the Eastern-Western Motor Group, which also [...]
Iconic off-roader tested.
Don't be taken in by the unchanged appearance - underneath the Defender is a new beast. Still unbeatable off-road and for towing.
Story: COLIN DAWSON Ford’s commercial vehicle line-up, recently revitalised with the launch of its new-generation Transits – the award-winning Custom and the Transit Connect – will be completed with the introduction of a car-derived van based on the Tourneo platform. The all-new Tourneo Connect, along with the Tourneo Custom, was recently unveiled in people carrier form, [...]
Story: RALPH MORTON Ford knows that you van drivers like your vans made tough. And there's no point launching a brand new van, like the new Ford Transit Custom, unless it's made extra tough. So, before the new Ford Transit Custom was launched, Ford engineeers subjected the van to some rigorous testing, including this slam door test in the [...]
OCTOBER 2012: New towing regs affecting small businesses come into force from January 2013
OCTOBER 2012: It's bigger and more functional for small business users.
30 minute 'fast charge' feature and a 105 mile range make the Partner a practical proposition for small business users.
And there's a range of driver aids to help keep power consumption down.
Story: COLIN DAWSON Citroën took the wraps off its new Electric Berlingo at the recent Hannover Commercial Show this month. The second-generation Electric Berlingo employs Citroën’s latest electric vehicle technology, while retaining the conventional Berlingo’s load volume of up to 4.1m3 and 675kg payload. Various parts of the vans’s electric powertrain are contained under the bonnet or beneath other [...]
Mobile phone use is the biggest offender, and it's worst of all in London.
Pressure on drivers to get the job done, and keep customers informed all contribute.
At the recent Hannover Show, Colin Dawson caught up with Nissan general manager fleet & LCV corporate sales Jordi Vila, who explained how important the UK LCV market is to the company Nissan is stepping up its support for small and medium-sized businesses with a number of strategies. Jordi Vila, Nissan general manager fleet & LCV corporate sales, told Business Vans [...]
For big organisations it's an inconvenience; for a small business it can be crippling.
Don't let thieves ruin your business by stealing your business van.
Story: COLIN DAWSON Electrical retailer Currys PC World has taken delivery of 50 Fiat Doblo Cargo Maxi vans for use with its service engineer fleet. With a 1,000kg payload and 4.2cu m volume allowing transportation of large, heavy items such as washing machines and fridge freezers, the vans will be used for home service visits. The £600,000 deal, [...]
Story: COLIN DAWSON Business van operators who deal with a diverse range of loads and want to increase their handling capability without compromising the general utility of their vehicles could benefit from the folding Step Lift tail lift manufactured by Penny Hydraulics. The company recently upgraded its lift for maximum working loads of 500kg. The device provides continuous [...]
Story: COLIN DAWSON Mercedes-Benz continues development of battery-electric-drive vans, with the zero-emissions version of the Sprinter making its world debut this week at the Hannover Commercial Vehicle Show. According to Mercedes, the prototype of the Sprinter E-CELL has been developed thanks to the positive reactions to the Vito E-CELL. The platform for the zero-emissions Sprinter was provided by [...]
Story: COLIN DAWSON An all-electric version of Nissan's NV200 van will go into production towards the end of year. Nissan yesterday confirmed manufacture of the e-NV200 at the Hannover show after a theatrical unveiling of the zero-emission vehicle, which is an amalgamation of the Nissan LEAF and the conventional NV200 van. The front end shows a clear family resemblance [...]
