Ford Transit Minibus

Ford has announced a series of additions to its commercial vehicle range to further develop its reputation as the UK’s market-leader. A new 14-seat Transit Minibus is now on sale with a choice of three 2.4-litre TDCi powertrains. These range from the new 100PS unit with six-speed transmission to the 140PS six-speed, and at 3.5 tonnes GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass), this addition to the model range means it can be driven on a category B car licence (on a non hire and reward basis).

From September, the Transit range rear all-wheel drive models will come with six-speed transmission as standard, delivering improved mpg and lower CO2 emissions. DAB radio will also standard on Transit SportVan from 2011 (on “Limited” series this option costs £200) and finally the AWD (All-wheel drive) Transit range is extended to the one tonne platform on the 300s. Ford commercial vehicle contract hire on all the new models will be loaded shortly.

Vauxhall vehicles

Vauxhall has announced they are extending their support for the Help for Heroes charity by providing two Insignia Sport Tourer event support vehicles and a Movano 3500 commercial vehicle for day-today hauling duties. Help For Heroes raises money for members of the Armed Forces who have wounded in the service of their country.

The two new Insignia Sport Tourers have been supplied in high specification SRi Nav trim with the 160PS turbodiesel engine and will carry Help For Heroes personnel to British and European events in comfort and safety. Help For Heroes co-founder, Bryn Parry said,”Help For Heroes’ fundraising events take place across the UK and Europe and a range of vehicles are needed to successfully support them. The addition of two Vauxhall Insignia Sport Tourers and the Movano will be a real boon to all the Help For Heroes staff who will be able to travel in comfortable, practical vehicles that I’m sure they will enjoy driving. Help For Heroes extends its thanks once again to Vauxhall”.

All the Vauxhall vehicles have been painted in a striking Help For Heroes livery, to attract as much attention as possible and if you want to make a donation to the charity, you can do so by visiting the Help For Heroes donation website.

Keys handed over

A special edition Transit, called the Transit Sapphire, has been launched to celebrate the 45th year of sales in the UK. Only 1,100 of this limited edition model will be produced and coincides with Ford selling 6.0 million Transits worldwide of this popular commercial vehicle. In the UK, over 2.1 million Transits have been sold over the 45 years. Ford chose the name Sapphire as this comes from the British tradition of celebrating a 45th wedding anniversary with a Sapphire.

There will be a choice of three models for the limited edition Transit as follows;

• A Transit 280 shortwheel base, low roof, front wheel drive powered by the 115PS 2.2-litre TDCi and six speed transmission – only 550 will be made available.
• Transit 380 medium wheelbase, medium roof, front wheel drive with the 115PS 2.2-litre TDCi diesel engine again with six speed ransmission – 350 will be produced.
• Finally the Transit 350 long wheelbase, medium roof, rear wheel drive, 115PS 2.4-litre TCDi diesel with six speed transmission – 250 will be made available.

The Transit Sapphire will come with the following options;

• Silver-painted front grille, body bumper, mirror caps and rear light guards.
• New “Ink Blue” paint.
• Air conditioning, front fog lights, bodyside mouldings, full wheel covers, tinted glass, elecrically operated windows, Quickclear heated front windscreen, stereo radio/CD player with aux and MP3, Bluetooth and Voice Control System, cruise control, full width steel bulkhead and cargo tie-down eyes.
• Safety features include ABS, ESP and driver airbag. 

On Sunday the 28th March, the clocks will go forward by one hour giving us an extra hour of daylight. However this will of course mean that we will lose an hour of sleep.

GEM Motoring Assist (GEM), the road safety and breakdown cover organisation is warning all car and commercial vehicle drivers to make sure they adapt their driving routines accordingly.

According to the ROSPA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents), research suggests that up to 20% of accidents are fatigue related and losing an hour of sleep is only going to increase levels of tiredness.

Axscend is set to launch their new trailerMASTER at the forthcoming Commercial Vehicle Operator Show 2010 , which will be held between the 13-15 April at the NEC in Birmingham.

The trailerMASTER service consists of three parts – a data collection unit fitted to every trailer, a website driven by customer needs and a team of trailer management experts on hand.

The system pinpoints the exact location of a trailer and gives its current load status and will be of interest to any commercial vehicle business looking to save time, reduce costs and improve efficiencies.

The organisers of the 2010 Commercial Vehicle Operator Show 2010 are very optimistic about their exhibitor figures with over 250 firm bookings for the event, with 51 also exhibiting for the first time. The event will be held between the 13th to the 15th April 2010 at the NEC in Birmingham.

Nick Jones, Chief Executive of the Society of Operations Engineers (SOE) one of the three show partners said,”This is tremendous news. The past 12 months have been particularly difficult for the UK road freight industry.Those who have been sufficiently resilient to the recent financial storm will emerge leaner, fitter, more cost-effective and of course more cost-efficient than ever before”. 

For further information visit www.cvoperatorshow.com

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released the details for January vehicle production figures, which shows vehicle and engine production rising for the third successive month.

Car output was up by 64.8% in January and commercial vehicle production rose by 9.6%. UK engine production was also up by 26.3%, however the SMMT is forecasting a modest growth in 2010, when comparing to a 25 year low in 2009.

Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive said,”Vehicle and engine production rose for a third successive month in January, demonstrating the continued success of global scrappage incentive schemes. Despite the close of the the UK scheme next month, SMMT expects a modest recovery in 2010 output as economic growth, a competitive exchange rate and the introduction of innovative new models to UK plants help to lift manufacturing levels above those seen in 2009″.

New legislation is being introduced in 2011 that covers many new motoring rules, including eyesight regulations. Commercial vehicle licence holders will have to test their eyes every five years and private licence holders every ten years.

The corporate division of Specsavers is offering a free guide of the new 2011 legislation, to any business that runs a fleet of cars or vans. For a free copy of the guide all you need to do is e-mail: corporateeyecare@uk.specsavers.com

All-new Movano

Vauxhall is launching their all-new Movano commercial van range offering 29 vehicle body type variations to choose from, front or rear-wheel drive, plus new power trains for lower commercial vehicle operating costs.

The modular platform has been jointly designed with Renault and depending on your payload category, you can also choose rear wheel drive variants with twin wheels. The full range of vehicles will include panel van, doublecab and Combi versions, chassis cabs with standard or crew cab, platform cab, three wheelbases, four lengths and three roof heights. The new Movano will be an excellent base for any conversions and the van will be available ex-works as a tipper, dropside and box van too.

Cabin comfort and safety is high on the agenda, with areas like improved driver visibility, multi-adjustable seats seats (in various configurations) and an adjustable steering column all on offer. The cargo area offers load lengths extending to 4.4 metres and a load capacity upto 17 cubic metres (L4H3 version).

Under the bonnet the van is powered by new generation 2.3-litre CDTi-four-cylinder common-rail diesel engines with three power outputs available (100PS,125PS and 150PS) all linked to a six-speed gearbox as standard. The 125PS and 150PS versions can also be coupled to the semi-auto Techshift. 

Movano cabin interior

ABS and electronic brake force distribution (EBD) is standard on all models while ESP (electronic stability program) is also standard on all rear-wheel drive vans and optional for front-wheel drive. Other safety features include front airbags, side airbags integrated in the seats (optional) and seat-belt pretensioners.

The new Movano range launch phase will be staggered according to the body variants and first vehicles will be available in May 2010.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has reported that car output rose by 58.5% in December 2009, the biggest rise since May 1976, plus commercial vehicle output also rose.

UK engine manufacturers also produced 2,053,456 engines in 2009, with 74.3% being exported. The split between petrol and diesel engines being manufactured was 63% versus 37%.

Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive commented,” The significant rise in vehicle production is welcome news and signals some greater stability across global automotive markets. We expect the year ahead to be extremely challenging, but the return of economic growth and a competitive exchange rate will help UK producers. Car and commercial vehicle production remain below pre-recession levels and it is essential that there continues to be a focus on creating more and better priced finance for businesses and consumers”.