Amarok

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will be showcasing a range of their commercial vehicles at the CV Show at Birmingham’s NEC, from the 12th to the 14th April 2011. Their hotly awaited four-door, four-wheel-drive pick-up, the Amarok, will be the star of the show and will be supported by nine other Volkswagen models.

Volkswagen will be showing off the recently launched Caddy and Caddy maxi panel vans, the Transporter in panel van and kombi, as well as various examples of the Crafter in panel van configuration and chassis cab. There will also be a model from Volkswagen’s heritage collection on show as well, with a fully restored 1954 split-screen “barn-door” Transporter.

Simon Elliott, Director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles,said,”Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is proud to be back at this year’s CV Show, which is a vey important date in the commercial vehicle calendar. We are extremely excited to finally introduce the Amarok to the UK buyers, showcase the diversity, versatility and competitiveness of our vans and people carriers, and I also cannot wait to see my new Caddy Racer for the first time!” Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle contract hire is on the site now as well.

Volkswagen vans

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has delivered the first of 2,000 vans to British Gas in their new livery, cyan blue. The new design is part of British Gas’ ongoing modernisation of their brand and business.

The new Volkswagen vans will be used by British Gas engineers and energy experts across the UK on the average 10,000 service checks a day that they perform. The vans are also fitted with speed limiters and racking to help control any load if they have to brake heavily and British Gas is also trialling a Transporter Shuttle minibus. The 2,000 order includes a mixture of Volkswagen Caddy, Caddy Maxi and a Crafter dropside and will be now added to the British Gas vehicle fleet of around 10,000.

British Gas Volkswagen vans

The Caddy and Caddy Maxi vans have load volumes from 3.2 cubic metres and return 54.3 mpg on the extra urban cycle making them efficient as well as practical. Simon Elliott, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles said,”We are pleased to see that the quality, durability and cost effective running costs of Volkswagen vans have passed the formidable British Gas acceptance criteria”.

Volkswagen vans

Volkswagen Vans has just taken 47 orders from the dishwasher specialist, Winterhalter, who has replaced their entire fleet with a mixture of Volkswagen Caddy, Transporter and Crafter vans.

Winterhalter designs and manufacturers commercial dishwasher systems and the vans are going to be used by their national service engineers. Jason Mckay, Operations Director at Winterhalter said,”We operate a 96 per cent first time fix service for our customers so vehicle reliability was very important to in our purchasing decision and as a German manufacturer we were pleased to find a German van brand that could meet our standards”. Volkswagen van contract hire on the whole Volkswagen van range is on the site now.

New Volkswagen Caddy range

Volkswagen has released the first images and details of the next generation Volkswagen Caddy and Caddy Maxi which will arrive in the UK in November this year and will debut at the IAA Hanover Commercial Vehicle show in September. The new model promises to be more economical to run and also has more safety features and enhanced quality and refinement.

The frontal styling has been refreshed with the new face found on the latest Polo and Transporter and there are also new rear light clusters, with roof rails also available for the first time. Inside there are new instruments, steering wheels, new audio controls plus the option of Bluetooth connectivity.

New interior styling

There are four new VW diesel Euro 5 engines under the bonnet, two 1.6-litre TDI engines (75PS and 102PS), plus two 2.0-litre TDI units (110PS and 140PS). BlueMotion Technology models will also be available with the 1.6-litre engine (in both the van and passenger carrying ranges) and these offer CO2 emissions as low as 129g/km and combined mpg up to 57 mpg.

The seven seat Caddy Maxi Life will be renamed as the Caddi Maxi MPV and ESP is standard across the range. Full prices and technical specifications will be released next month when Volkswagen commercial contract hire prices will be loaded.

Limited Edition X

Volkswagen has introduced a new Transporter Sportline Limited Edition X model as their Sportline sales continue to grow. The Caddy and Caddy Maxi Sportline models in particular have become increasingly popular. There will only be 150 of the Transporter Sportline Limited Edition X models made available in short and long wheelbase panel van mode or short wheelbase kombi.

In addition to the standard specification on the standard Transporter Sportline model of 18-inch alloy wheels, chrome grilles and side sills, leather seats and front and rear spoilers, the X model gets chrome and black “Dakar” alloy wheels, “leather pack” (leather steering wheel and gear lever), specially designed black and blue leather seats, Sportline floor mats and rear parking sensors. There is a choice of two metallic paint colours – Reflex Silver and Shadow Blue.

Volkswagen Transporter

Volkswagen has made a new “appearance pack” available on its best-selling van, the Transporter.  This new pack adds style and kerbside appeal and is available on the entire range of short and long-wheelbase Transporter panel vans, plus their passenger-carrying window vans. It includes body-coloured bumpers plus electrically adjustable, folding and heated body-coloured door mirrors and electric front windows.

This option from Volkswagen was only available before on the Caravelle people carrier or the range-topping Sportline models. This new option costs £610 (plus VAT) and Volkswagen van leasing prices on the Transporter, Caddy, Caddy Maxi and the rest of the VW range are available now.

British Gas orders 5,300 VW Caddy vans

Volkswagen is supplying the 5,300 VW Caddy vans to British Gas. Following a rigorous tender process Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles won the contract (their largest ever fleet order) to supply the vans with bespoke racking and a 70mph speed limiter. Each British Gas engineer travels on average 12,000 miles per annum and this fleet of VW Caddy vans will cover over 254 million miles during their four year life. 

Colin Marriott, General Manager Fleet at British Gas said ” We are committed to our vehicle replacement programme to ensure our fleet operates to the highest safety levels and that we continuously take advantage of the very latest vehicle technologies that reduce our impact on the environment.

The Volkswagen Caddy van is the most compact model in the Volkswagen range (of Caddy, Caddy Maxi, Transporter and Crafter models), with a 3.2 cubic metre load volume. Volkswagen Business contract hire prices are available on the whole range.