Story: COLIN DAWSON
TNT will assess several aspects of the 5-tonne Volkswagen Crafter box van conversions including fuel economy, operational activity, ease of maintenance and driver evaluation
Business-to-business express operator TNT Express is putting 10 Volkswagen Crafter single chassis cab box vans through their paces. The box van conversion, by Altrincham specialists Cartwright, was carried out to TNT’s specific requirements.
The Crafters, which will be based at TNT’s Bristol depot, were purchased through Volkswagen’s Van Centre in Manchester. TNT delivers up to 150 million items annually and has the largest individual share of the national market.
Steve Davis, national engineering manager TNT Express Services UK & Ireland said: “Once a decision was made to re-evaluate our current fleet, we researched the market place to find manufacturers of 5-tonne vehicles that fitted the company’s requirements. We will be monitoring the cabs over an average annual mileage of around 30,000 miles and hope to make decisions about our van capacity and vehicle range in the next 12 months.
He said as with all TNT fleet vehicles, the Crafter would be assessed on a variety of points including fuel economy, operational activity, ease of maintenance and driver evaluation.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles national fleet manager Alastair Hemmings told Business Vans: “Compared with a standard 7.5-tonne vehicle, the 5-tonne Crafter will give TNT more flexibility in deliveries and save on running costs, particularly with the fuel efficient engines and very competitive whole life costs. The trial with TNT is a great way of demonstrating the different uses of a Crafter chassis cab and the range of conversions we can offer our business van customers via our Van Centre network.”
Keep up to date with developments in our business van news section.
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