WHAT type of van is the Volkswagen Transporter T5?

Frankly, it might be easier to answer the question of what type of van it isn’t. That’s because, when the VW T5 was introduced in 2003, it came factory-fresh in over a hundred combinations, including as a panel van, drop side van and single and double-cab van.

Consequently, the T5 is very much what you want it to be. But does this mean it could help prime your business for success when the COVID-19 pandemic finally subsides? 

You can work surprisingly comfortably in a T5

The Volkswagen Transporter has been through various iterations, with the T5 just one generation, over the decades since this vehicle first rolled off a Wolfsburg production line on 8th March 1950. Indeed, the VW Transporter has now been in production for longer than any other commercial vehicle, FleetPoint reports.

This historic vehicle has had especially strong staying power in the business community, and Volkswagen has continued to tweak the Transporter with features tailored to this market. Indeed, if you were in any doubt about the model’s sophistication in recent years, BT points to the example of a 2014-specification T5 that even incorporated built-in Wi-Fi. 

This would be no small boon if you are reticent about relinquishing your business’s now-customary usage of Zoom and similar remote-working software even as the COVID crisis eases.

What taxes can apply to a T5?

The answer to this is not as simple as you might think. Even when a van looks like a van and is commonly called one, it might not always strictly count as one for tax purposes. As an employer, if you give an employee a vehicle they can use privately, then income tax and NIC charges will come into play.

However, exactly how much of those taxes are payable will depend on whether that benefit-in-kind car is officially classified as a car or, instead, a van – a situation that would incur higher tax.

AccountingWEB cites an intriguing case where two separate tribunals deemed one multipurpose vehicle a van and another, similar vehicle a car. 

The case centred on Coca-Cola’s decision to provide employees with two VW Transporter T5 Kombi models and a Vauxhall Vivaro. All of these vehicles were theoretically vans, but the tribunals ruled that the Kombi vehicles had, for tax purposes, become cars as a result of modifications. 

What are the insurance implications of owning a T5?

Much of the beauty of choosing a T5 for work purposes is that it can be altered in a seemingly infinite range of ways, making it easier for the vehicle to meet your specific corporate requirements.

One downside of this, however, is that a T5 can feel fiendishly tricky to insure, as it is not always obvious which insurance group it falls into. It also doesn’t help that T5 vehicles are often modified as a matter of routine, and modifications alone further complicate the insurance picture. 

This bewildering situation explains why, if you do buy a T5, you should conduct thorough online research into specialist VW T5 insurance to help yourself to source the right cover.

The Volkswagen Transporter T5, then… a marvellous vehicle for work and, it turns out, play. But if it’s the former purpose you have in mind for your T5 rather than the latter, you are strongly urged to take into account all of the above factors, so that you can be sure of making the right choices for you and your firm’s needs in the post-COVID-19 era. 

 

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