Nissan NV 400 Tipper

Nissan will give fleet commercial operators an exclusive preview of its new NV400 chassis cab range at the forthcoming CV (Commercial Vehicle) Show 2012 in April next month.

A mid and long wheelbase NV400 chassis cab in both front and rear wheel drive will be launched with two factory built vehicles and a Nissan “Good To Go” range of conversions.  There are two engine options of 125hp and 150hp and a total of 13 variants to choose from, including a single cab and double cab as well.

The factory-built conversions of the Nissan NV 400 will initially comprise a dropside and tipper which are built on the plant production line and will be delivered to any commercial fleet operator ready for action.

Nissan NV 400 Tipper

The Nissan Good To Go range will also include a box van, Luton and fridge van, plus a combi and minibus option that will be built by specially chosen UK converters that Nissan recommends.

James Douglas, Nissan Motor GB’s corporate sales director, said,“The CV Show is a great platform to launch our new NV400 chassis cab and remind operators that Nissan has one of the widest LCV ranges on offer in the UK. With the NV400 semi forward van based chassis cab and the Cabstar truck chassis cab Nissan has two base vehicles that operators can use to build virtually any size or shape of conversion to match their business requirements. We believe this will help further grow our LCV sales in 2012″.

Green Motion

Green Motion is a recognised daily rental provider in low CO2 emission rentals and in 2011 the company won the Energy Saving Trust Fleet Hero award. It currently operates in 18 UK locations, including Birmingham city centre and Birmingham International Airport and has just become Aston Villa Football Club’s preferred daily rental provider.

The Premier League side has a Corporate Social Responsibility and environmental commitment, so renting with Green Motion will ensure a significant improvement in the carbon footprint of both the Club and their fans, both of whom will benefit from special daily rental rates.

Paolo Lo Monaco, Group CEO and Green Motion, said.”This is a fantastic opportunity for both Green Motion and Aston Villa. In fact, on top of the immediate rental opportunities, this relationship will offer the Green Motion brand major exposure into the Birmingham market thanks to the significant retail and corporate connections of the Aston Villa network.”

Volkswagen Amarok Canyon

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has unveiled an extreme version of the successful Amarok pick-up at the Geneva International Motor Show, with its new Amarok Canyon concept vehicle.  

This concept model has been specially configured for the popular extreme sport of ‘freestyle kayaking’ and the show car illustrates how versatile pick-up configurations can be created, for any sports enthusiast, or for any other commercial usage.  

Every aspect of the Amarok Canyon concept has been designed to meet the requirements of this extreme sport, from the pick-up’s running gear to details of the cargo box.

The Amarok Amazon concept pick-up is taller and wider than the production Amarok, and its colour is also more exotic.  The pick-up’s body, shimmers in the three-layer effects of its bright ‘Baladi Orange’ paint, and the vehicle has been raised by 40 mm with a body lift kit.

Volkswagen Amarok Canyon

When the tyres are included, the concept is a full 85 mm taller than the production Amarok model, plus it comes with auxiliary headlights mounted on its roof, smoked rear lights and the colour-contrasting underbody protection. Two electrically deployed tread plates also make it easy for all passengers to step into and out of the pick-up, despite the raised ride height.

The wheel housings were also widened by 35 mm on each side to make room for the large AT tyres, size 275/65 R 18, mounted on ‘Durban’ type wheels painted in ‘High Gloss Adamantium Dark’.

The two carbon fibre kayaks are securely mounted to the cargo floor with the paddles firmly latched in place on the inside surface of the tailgate. All other sports gear such as white-water helmets, flotation devices and rafting shoes, are also stowed securely.

Inside, the leather seats have two-tone styling, with the seating surfaces finished in ‘sterling’ colour, while the head restraints and the side supports are offset in ‘adamant’ colour.

The Amarok concept vehicle is powered by a 2.0 TDI bi-turbo with 180 PS, which provides a maximum torque of 400 Newton metres over engine speeds ranging from 1,500-2,250 rpm.  The switchable 4MOTION all-wheel drive system also ensures effective power transfer to the wheels, even in the toughest off-road conditions.

If you are interested in an Amarok pick-up then we have the current range on the site now on Volkswagen contract hire.

Ford Focus

Ford is the UK’s market leader and has just reported increases in its car sales and market share in both January and February this year.

Ford’s popular car range secured 14.5 per cent of the February market, up 2.6 percentage points compared with February 2011, while Ford’s commercial vehicles (CVs) maintained overall leadership of the CV market. This follows the latest registrations data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The Ford Focus is the UK’s February best seller and the Ford Fiesta is also the number one seller for the year to date, while Ford commercial vehicles, including the Transit, lead both the LCV and MCV segments.

Mark Ovenden, Ford of Britain managing director, said:  “Ford’s car range has started 2012 with a terrific performance that extends our UK lead in total car sales, and provides a good indicator for March, when sales are boosted significantly by the registration plate change”.

The SMMT data has shown that total car sales last month were down 2.5 per cent to 61,868 units, compared with the same period in February 2011. However, Ford car sales of 8,957 were up 18.8 per cent, from 7,542 in February 2011.

New Berlingo

Citroen’s latest Berlingo and Dispatch vans will make their debut at this year’s CV Show 2012, from 24th to the 26th April, at the NEC in Birmingham. The latest models will be shown alongside other Citroen LCV models including the Nemo and Relay ranges. plus some models from the Relay Specialist range.

Berlingo

The latest Berlingo has a wider, more defined grille incorporating updated chevrons and a new front headlight arrangement, plus the wider air intake on the front bumper gives the vehicle a much more powerful stance on the road. Inside, the existing upholstery has been replaced by Citroen’s new ‘Gazyban’ grey trim for increased comfort and a more modern look and feel.

It has a maximum load capacity of 4.1 cubic metres, sliding side doors and 60/40 rear doors opening to 180 degrees and can carry two euro pallets easily. For even greater versatility, the Extenso folding passenger bench seat for two is standard on all LX and Enterprise models.

The new Berlingo comes in one petrol and four diesel powertrains, with improved fuel efficiency and environmental performance. The HDi 75 now emits only 133g/km of CO2 and the HDi 90 emits 138g/km, with the ‘greenest’ and most fuel efficient Berlingo, the e-HDi 90 Airdream EGS6.  This latter model features e-HDi micro-hybrid technology with Stop & Start and a six-speed automated manual gearbox, and delivers even lower CO₂ emissions of just 123g/km.

New Dispatch

Dispatch

The Dispatch also gains a new front end, plus it comes with enhanced equipment such as hill-start assist and the same fixed speed limiter functionality as the Berlingo. Or, Grip Control is also available, that allows you to choose four driving modes- normal, all-terrain, snow or sand. This advanced anti-skid option optimises the vehicle’s traction and adapts to all road driving conditions.

The Dispatch emissions fall to 177g/km from 182g/km for models powered by the HDi 90 engine and from 179g/km to 168g/km with the HDi 125 engine.

Scott Michael, Citroon’s Commercial Vehicle Operations Manager, commented,“Our CV Show display demonstrates Citroen’s advanced technology, which results in some of the most fuel efficient and lowest emission vehicles available in the UK. Today’s Citroen LCV range offers UK businesses an unrivalled choice of vans, enhanced traction vans, platform cabs, crew vans, chassis cabs, chassis crew cabs and specialist bodied vehicles”. Citroen van contract hire is on the site now.

Nissan LEAF

RCS, a Nottinghamshire based printer, is reducing its transport emissions with fleet of six new Nissan LEAF EVs and using the new ABB rapid charger, this allows the LEAF to be charged to 80% capacity in less than 30 minutes. The company is also using solar panels and other energy reduction strategies to reduce their annual energy bill by £78k, thereby charging the LEAFs for free

“The environment forms a key part of our company ethos and our fleet of Nissan LEAFs build on our vision of becoming the UK’s most environmentally friendly printer,” explained Michael Todd, MD of RCS. “The LEAF is the first practical five door, five seat EV on the UK market and our staff have embraced all aspects of the car which is why we kept adding them to our fleet.”

Volkswagen Caddy Match

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has just launched a new special edition Volkswagen Caddy, called the Caddy Match. The Caddy Match is only available until the 30th April 2012 and features additional specification over the standard model as follows.

• Air conditioning
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Trip computer
• Electric windows
• Electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors
• Cruise control
• Body-coloured bumpers and wing mirrors
• Wheel trims

It is available in the standard Caddy and the long wheelbase Caddy Maxi (except 4MOTION and EcoFuel models) and has a range of Euro5 emissions compliant 1.6-litre or 2.0-litre TDi engines plus Bluemotion technology.

Paul Vissian, Product Manager at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said,”It’s great to start the New Year with an outstanding special edition for one of the UK’s best-selling compact vans. We’ve studied the market carefully and chosen some of the most popular options to give Caddy Match an unbelievable standard specification and probably the best value for money model we’ve ever offered”.

New Kia Optima saloon

The all-new Kia Optima goes on sale on the 1st February as Kia targets the business fleet car market with this new model, with a diesel-only line-up. The car is available in six-speed manual or automatic transmissions with four trim levels available – all with a very high level of standard specification. The new Kia Optima offers class-leading space and CO2 emissions as low as 128g/km of CO2 and a combined mpg of 57.6, so is an ideal shortlist for any company car driver.

The Optima was unveiled at the New York Auto Show and became Korea’s top-selling car within a month of going on sale. To date nearly 300,000 Optimas have been sold worldwide and the car was designed by Kia’s Chief Design Officer (Peter Schreyer) and his team.  

Kia Optima

It now joins the Kia family of Sorento, Soul, Venga, Sportage, c’eed, Picanto, Rio and provides Kia a full range of vehicles to offer across a fleet company car policy.

The UK model line-up and pricing  

Vauxhall Vivaro

Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles has reported that it sold more vans at retail in 2011 than any other commercial vehicle manufacturer, according to the figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The Luton-based manufacturer sold 11,436 vans to small businesses last year, with sales up 28.05 per cent in a market up 8.32 per cent.  The Vauxhall Vivaro was the best selling van in the retail medium van segment with sales up 58.05 per cent year-on-year.

“Last year proved to be an excellent year for Vauxhall van sales,” said Richard Collier, Vauxhall’s National Commercial Vehicles Sales Manager.  “It’s fantastic news for Vauxhall that despite the uncertain economic outlook there’s still strong demand for fuel efficient, high quality vans with low running costs and excellent manufacturer support.”

The latest edition to the Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles range, the all-new Combo, is due next month and Vauxhall contract hire is on the site now on all the current van range.

The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2012, together with MGM Grand Detroit, will once again feature über-luxury and performance vehicles at The Gallery.  Now in its fifth year, this exclusive motoring event will be held at MGM Grand Detroit on Sunday, the 8th January, 2012.

The Gallery will feature some magnificent luxury vehicles from Aston Martin, Bentley, Corvette, Falcon, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Lexus, Lincoln, Lingenfelter, Maserati, Morgan, Porsche, Range Rover, Rolls-Royce, and some of the finest motorcycles. 

Many of the vehicles on display at The Gallery will not be shown at the NAIAS, for example the Aston Martin One-77, Lamborghini Aventador, Rolls Royce Ghost and Jaguar XKR-S will be on display exclusively at The Gallery.

A YouTube promotional video can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ19OgGWZK0&lr=1&feature=mhee).