CAR Dealer Magazine has rounded up some of the news stories from the past few weeks – including the UK’s best-mpg van!

76mpg Citroen Nemo UK’s most eco van
CITROEN now officially sells the UK’s most fuel-efficient small van, following the results of the latest MPG Marathon.

The 1.4 HDi diesel-engined Nemo SensoDrive beat the rest of the field to return a remarkable 75.8mpg.

It was piloted by John Kendall and Dr. Paul Nieuwenhuis, who covered nearly 360 miles on real-world roads to achieve the headline-grabbing figure.

An average speed of 30mph was imposed – which, said Kendall, meant ‘we had to maintain a respectably high 30mph average speed to avoid penalties.

It was the second year running the Nemo has been crowned ‘Britain’s Most Economical Van’, despite a route that was ‘particularly tough.

There were ‘many miles in the hills of the Welsh borders,’ said Kendall, making the near-76mpg figure all the more remarkable.
Robert Handyside, Citroen UK’s commercial vehicle operations manager, said, ‘once again Citroën vans have proven that the use of advanced technology delivers real-world operator benefits in terms of exceptional 75.8mpg fuel economy.

‘Citroen’s outstanding fuel consumption figures are particularly relevant when all fleet operators are experiencing harsher economic conditions.’

New van dealer for North East
Broadway Motor Company has opened a new used van and truck centre, near to Gateshead and Newcastle.

The Billingham outlet has space to retail 90 vehicles from its 1.5-acre site.

It marks the expansion further north of Broadway, which has for 30 years been trading in London, Manchester, Stoke on Trent, Derby, Liverpool and Rotherham.

The new Cowpen Lane site is based on that of a former Ford car dealer, and will offer a choice of car-derived vans, short- and long-wheelbase vans, minibuses, tippers, flatbeds, Lutons… you name it!

Sales leader Ian Griffiths said ‘the North East is an important area for used commercial vehicle sales, and we are pleased to be able to open these new premises in a prime location – a move very much prompted by strong demand for the kind of vehicles that we are able to offer to customers in this part of the country.

‘While the used commercial vehicle market as a whole has been extremely unpredictable over the last year, business for Broadway has remained strong.

He offered some van dealer market tips, too. ‘The high quality, three year old, one owner stock in which we specialise has been finding a market, often as a value-for-money alternative to a new vehicle.’

New van sales still down big
SMMT registration figures for September show the decline in the new van market is continuing.

Sales for the month were down over 22 percent – and, for the year, they’re down a massive 40 percent.

It reflects fragile business confidence, says SMMT chief Paul Everitt.

‘As anticipated, September registrations were given a temporary boost, by both the new ’59 plate and the end of availability of Reduced Pollution Certificates for Euro 4 and 5 trucks.

‘This demonstrates the positive effect a small incentive can have on the market but does not yet signal an end to the severe impact of the recession.’

Some van makers are doing better than others within this depressed market. Ford remains leader, for example, while Citroen is claiming some of its best-ever September results.

The firm took nearly 10 percent of the entire LCV market, and sold just 9 fewer vans than it did this time last year.

Nearly half of all these sales were of the Berlingo, with the rest pretty evenly split between the Nemo, Dispatch and Relay.

Robert Handyside, Citroën’s commercial vehicles operations manager, said ‘with the extension of the Government’s ‘Scrappage’ programme, and new LCV developments in the pipeline, Citroën intends to build upon its September sales success.’

Chelmsford gets VW vans
ESSEX new van buyers now have a brand new Volkswagen Van Centre in Chelmsford.

The Inchcape Retail outlet has created 12 van dealer jobs – and, as it grows over the next year, will probably create another eight y the end of 2010.

Costing £1.4m, it’s Inchcape’s third VW van site, adding to existing outlets in Manchester and Cheltenham.

The standalone site will sell both new and used vans, while also boasting a well-equipped workshop capable of Class 4 MOTs.

Its new head of business is Paul Lunnon. ‘We concentrate on delivering an outstanding customer experience, never forgetting that customers have a choice,’ he said.

‘Our focus is only on vans – it is this that sets us apart from the competition.’

Simon Elliott, director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said ‘we are very proud to add this impressive new Van Centre to our nationwide network.’

What’s more, ‘we are pleased that we can now provide an exceptional service to our customers in Essex.’

Tags: Citroen, commercial, cv, roundup, SMMT, vans, vw

This entry was last updated on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 5:00 am and is filed under News.