The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has undertaken some recent research on the 31 million cars currently registered on UK roads (the Motorparc) and has released some interesting facts and data. The SMMT data service has historical records of more than 200 million vehicles on its database and is capable of reporting by region, town or even by postcode. In addition to the 31 million cars on the road currently there are also 4.5 million commercial vehicles.

Here are some of the highlights of the SMMT data research;

• The total number of cars on UK roads is 31,258,197, up by 0.7% on 2009.
• Scotland and the South West were the biggest growth areas, each of which showed an increase of 4% since 2005.
• Greater London and the North West saw a greater fall in the number of registered cars over the last 5 years.
• Lowering CO2 emissions has been a focus for most car manufacturers and average CO2 emissions have dropped by 15% in the last five years.
• Chesterfield tops the low CO2 emissions table with 29% of its cars on the road emitting less than 140g/km.
• Plymouth has the fewest number of low CO2 cars at 19%.
• Silver is the most popular colour and has held top spot since 2008, however in 2010 white cars increased dramatically, up 7%.
• White cars are particularly popular along the South Coast and Leeds has the highest proportion of pink cars in the country.

Further information on SMMT data services can be found at www.smmt.co.uk/data

Volkswagen Sharan

If you ever wanted to know which the best car manufacturer is for security then Volkswagen has just won the top accolade for the second year running at the 2011 British Insurance Vehicle Security Awards (BIVSA). All the awards were presented by Thatcham, the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre, based in Berkshire.

The new Volkswagen Sharan, which went on sale, last year picked up the title in the Large MPV class, the Tiguan was the winner in the Crossover class and the Phaeton won the best Luxury Car for the fourth time since the awards started eight years ago. In the commercial vehicles section, the Caddy won the Light Van category and the newly launched Amarok pick-up was named as the most secure Pick Up LCV.

All the vehicles were judged on a number of criteria which were identified by the creators of the New Vehicle Security Ratings (NVSR) scheme. The vehicles that had a maximum five stars for “theft from”, had double locking and an “E”  insurance suffix (which indicates they had a feature that exceeds the required standard) were shortlisted for the final evaluation and ranking.

Mike Briggs, Vehicle Security Manager at Thatcham, said,”Volkswagen UK continues to push for supremacy within the British Insurance Vehicle Security Awards and should be commended for its tenacity in devising security solutions to design out crime and make its vehicles more secure”. The full range of Volkswagen cars and vans are available on contract hire on the site,  if you are interested in leasing your next Volkswagen.

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has backed the recent report by the Audit Commission, that recommends local authorities need to adopt greater transparency to promote more proportionate spending on the repair and maintenance of UK roads. Damage to commercial vehicles from poorly maintained roads is costing the industry, as tyres and maintenance typically costs around 10% of the total running costs of a large truck.

Malcolm Bingham, FTA’s Head of Road Network Management Policy, said,”The Audit Commission had indentified that local highways authorities maintain 98% of the coountry’s roads, yet the level of spending on improving road conditions differs widely between them and seems to bear no resemblance to road condition or size of network. This has to change and we support the Commissions’ calls for greater transparency across local authorities both in benchmarking costs and whole-life maintenance plans”.

Volkswagen Amarok pick-ups

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has just demolished a 67 metre high steel chimney weighing approximately 140 tonnes as part of a demonstration to show off the pulling power of their new Volkswagen Amarok pick-up. The chimney was due for demolition anyway and EDS, the demolotion experts, worked with Volkswagen to complete the mammoth task.

Four 200 metre lengths of rope were tied to the top of the chimney and attached to the towbars of four standard VW Amarok pick-ups powered by the 2.0-litre TDI engine, that produces 163hp, and down the chimney came. Simon Elliott,Director, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said,”The new Amarok is packed with power and intelligence, and we wanted to achieve something extraordinary to demonstrate this for launch”.

The new Amarok is officially launched in dealer showrooms from the 9th May and Volkswagen commercial vehicle contract hire is on the site now.

Vauxhall has now introduced an “eco model” across its entire range of commercial vans with the launch of ecoFLEX Commercial Vehicles.

Steve Bryant, Brand Manager, Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles, said,”Vauxhall is the the first manufacturer to offer an “eco” product for each model in its range. Green credentials are becoming a higher priority for customers looking to reduce the carbon footprint of their vehicles. Our vans have always been known for their low running costs and the ecoFLEX badge clearly identifies to our customers the lowest CO2 model in our range”.

Vauxhall Vivaro ecoFLEX

Some samples of the ecoFLEX commercial vehicle range

• Vivaro ecoFLEX 2.0 CDTi (90PS) and 2.0 CDTi (115PS), both with CO2 emissions of 185g/km and payloads of 1254kg.
• Corsavan ecoFLEX 1.3 CDTi (75PS) Start/Stop which emits 105g/km of CO2.
• Movano ecoFLEX 3.3 tonne L2H2 2.3 CDTI (100PS) with CO2 emissions of 202g/km.
• Astravan and Combo will also see ecoFLEX models added.

Vauxhall contract hire on all new ecoFLEX models will be loaded as soon as final prices and specifications have been confirmed.

Renault

What Van? has announced the winners of their prestigious What Van? Awards and this year named the Renault Master and Vauxhall Movano as joint winners of “Van of the Year”. The two vans are so closely related that it was hard to separate them.

Vauxhall Movano

Paul Barker, Editor of What Van? explained,”The Vauxhall Movano and Renault Master are excellent new additions to the light commercial vehicle market and have proved themselves to be worthy recipients of the top “What Van? Award.The increased breadth of range, including rear-wheel drive models for the first time,and the industry-leading levels of interior functionality and practicality in particular swayed the judges”.

The other category winners are shown below and contract hire leasing prices are available now on all makes and models of commercial light vehicles.

What Van? Award winners:

Van of the Year:  Vauxhall Movano/Renault Master

Small Van of the Year:  Ford Fiesta

Light Van of the Year:  Fiat Doblo Cargo

Small Panel Van of the Year:  VW Transporter

Large Panel Van of the Year:  Vauxhall Movano/Renault Master

Pick-up of the Year:  Mitsubishi L200

One-Stop Shop Award:  Citroen

Minibus of the Year:  Ford Transit

4×4 Van of the Year:  Ford Transit AWD

Safety Award: Mercedes

Green Award: VCA

Technology Award:  Renault Kangoo ZE

Editor’s Choice Award:  Renault

Volkswagen Caddy

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has officially launched the new Caddy panel van and MPV range with a new advertising campaign called “Brilliant Made Better”. The theme uses a factory production robot placing a cherry on top of the new Caddy.

The new Caddy also gets its own microsite – www.brilliantmadebetter.co.uk where you will find an interactive guide to the vehicle plus an online game. David George, Head of Marketing, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said,”The Caddy is one of our best-selling model ranges in the UK, and we needed to promote all the ways in which the new Caddy is even better than the last one, while also demonstrating very clearly that at Volkswagen we always strive for excellence. We’re also pleased that the launch campaign uses the Volkswagen style of being clear and concise with a simple but humorous twist”.

Volkswagen Crafter

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has just delivered its 15,000th Volkswagen Crafter van in the UK to Heateam, the heating and hot water specialist which had ordered 48 vans as part of its fleet replacement policy. Heateam, which is part of the Baxi Group is replacing its current fleet of LT32 vans.

Gordon Judge, Baxi Field Logistics Co-ordinator explained that the decision to choose Volkswagen vans was based on reliability and customer service. He commented,” It is essential we provide an efficient and reliable service for our customers. We continually review our fleet operations and the Crafter’s size, reduced emissions and support of a branded national network reinforced our choice. In addition, the Volkswagen range is extremely popular with our engineers and their comfort is also integral to our business operations”. Volkswagen commercial vehicle contract hire prices on the whole VW van range is available on the site now.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

Mercedes-Benz celebrated a milestone last week with the one millionth commercial vehicle rolling off the production line at the Mercedes-Benz plant at Ludwigsfelde with the milestone vehicle being a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van.

More than 2,000 employees and guests celebrated the event and a brief film clip was shown during the ceremony, enabling the guests to relive the plant’s 45-year history. Michael Humpert, Plant Manager and Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz Ludwigsfeld GmbH said,”Our plant has had a very eventful history and things have not always been easy. That’s why we are particularly happy that we can jointly celebrate this production milestone”. Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle leasing on their whole van range is also currently available off the site.

Volkswagen Calilfornia

One lucky GMTV viewer entered a competition to win a Volkswagen California in conjunction with the Camping and Caravanning Club. Paula Harris is now the proud owner of this great campervan and is already planning her trips around the UK, with Cornwall and South Wales on the agenda. The prize vehicle is fitted with a roll-out side awning, a tailgate bike rack for up to four bikes and optional alloy wheels.

The Volkswagen California is designed to be compact on the road, yet transforms into a real home with its own fridge, cooker, sink, two double beds and an electrically operated pop-up roof. As part of the prize, Paula also wins an annual membership to the Camping and Caravanning Club, giving her access to 110 sites across the UK.

Simon Elliott, Director, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said,”Paula must be the luckiest camper in the world to win such an exciting prize from her first competition entry. We know she will thoroughly enjoy the California’s high quality, and great design, and get a friendly welcome from the huge community of Volkswagen campers”.