Fiat announce new range of Talento vans
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Fiat Professional have announced the latest model to their commercial vehicle lineup - the Fiat Talento.
The new model is to be positioned between the Fiat Doblo Cargo and Ducato and comes fully equipped with a generous load capacity and full range of configurations.
Fiat's new range comes fitted with twin-turbo diesel engines paired with a six-speed manual gearbox and power outputs of up to 145hp. The Talento can be bought in a variety of different forms; van, people-carrier, crew cab or flat bed.
The name 'Talento' comes from an ancient coin called 'The Talent' which happens to be Talento in Italian, lets hope that the abilities of the new vehicle live up to it's namesake.
From a looks perspective the Talento is an attractive vehicle, its compact but not too 'boxy', sporting sleek lines with a short bonnet, the grille has been designed to wrap around the front headlights. The rear end has been squared off which helps to increase the inner space and load capacity.
Orders for the Talento open in mid-May with the final pricing and availability to me made public at a later date.
Mercedes-Benz have sold their three millionth Sprinter van
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Mercedes-Benz have announced that they've sold their three millionth Sprinter van.
The three millionth vehicle was a chassis cab Sprinter variant and was bought by well known camper van manufacturer Hymer in a handing over ceremony in Germany.
Since its market launch back in 1995 the popular commercial vehicle has been driving in its various forms across more than 130 countries and is a vehicle that Mercedes are claiming invented the large up to 5-tonne van segment.
2015 marked Mercedes most successful year with record sales of 194,200 Sprinter van units being sold in 2015 alone.
Volker Mornhinweg, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans has commented on their recent success saying, "Three million Sprinter in just 20 years is a sign of great success,"
Mornhinweg also added, "The Sprinter was the founder of the segment for large vans and remains highly successful to this day - throughout the world. The Sprinter with its six production plants worldwide is a shining example of our growth strategy 'Mercedes-Benz Vans goes global'. And we still have many plans for our flagship in the future, as well. We aim to continue the success of the Sprinter series in 2016."
Mercedes-Benz and Hymer have collaborated together for more than 40 years with the first Hymermobil being based on a Mercedes-Benz van. Hymer have relied heavily on the Mercedes Sprinter as the base of their premium range of camper vans since its release back in 1995.
Bernhard Kibler of Hymer has commented on the special relationship between Hymer and Mercedes stating, "Mercedes-Benz Vans is a strategically important partner for us. The vans with the star are acknowledged to be among the safest in their class. The Sprinter, in particular, offers an extensive range of safety equipment, with its various driver assistance systems such as standard-specification Crosswind Assist, which is unique in our sector. Combined with our bodybuilding technology and premium-class equipment and fittings, we can offer the customer a camper van that is uncompromising in its operating safety and living comfort. We are delighted that our longstanding partner is handing over the three millionth Sprinter to us. We offer our sincere congratulations to Mercedes-Benz Vans on this significant anniversary and look forward to continuing our excellent collaboration,"
Kibler finished by saying, "Our customers can look forward to a few surprises this year, too."
Hymer have announced that they will be turning the anniversary vehicle into one of their premium HYMER ML-T camper vans.
Iceland continue to partner with Route Monkey for their home delivery service
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Popular British supermarket chain Iceland has extended its contract with Route Monkey for a further three years until 2019.
Route Monkey have recently been acquired by Trakm8, a big data and telematics company who supply Iceland with routing optimisation algorithms.
IT director of Iceland Foods, Louise Dhaliwal has said that, "Using Route Monkey will help us to continue to provide the best possible home delivery service to our customers. It enables us to optimise the use of our fleet and driver resources, while also reducing our fleet mileage and emissions."
Route optimisation plays a large part in getting frozen goods to customers safely and efficiently which is why over 1,500 vehicles and 800 Iceland stores nationwide will make use of Route Monkey's optimisation service.
John Watkins, executive chairman of Trakm8 has commented, "We are delighted to secure this contract extension with Iceland as an early indicator of the value of Route Monkey to the Group. This contract has the potential to form the basis of our next generation fleet management solutions which will see cameras and route optimisation algorithms integrated with Trakm8’s continuing telematics capabilities."
Citroen to launch new Berlingo van at CV show
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French automobile manufacturer Citroen are getting ready to launch their new Berlingo van range at the Commercial Vehicle Show next month.
The new range will be offered with a choice of Euro 6 compliant engines; a VTi 95 petrol engine, BlueHDi 75, BlueHDi 100 and BlueHDi 120 diesel engine. Citroen are hoping that this new Euro 6 range will see van operators reap the benefits gained from the improved fuel economy and better efficiency as well as increased on-road performance.
Citroen will also be unveiling two new stand-alone Euro 6 BlueHDi powered Berlingo Enterprise models with the new vehicles based on the newly launched BlueHDi 75 manual L1 625 van and the BlueHDi 100 S&S manual L1 850 van.
Also available is a new Berlingo Enterprise Pack which will be an available extra for just £800 + VAT available for all Berlingo XL vans and includes the same extras that can be found on the Enterprise models; air conditioning, anti-theft alarm, rear-parking sensors, connecting box (Bluetooth/USB port) and a touchscreen audio pack.
These extras can save customers up to £730 + VAT compared with specifying these options individually.
Click here for a competitive quote on your Citroen Berlingo Van Insurance.
Van owners are at risk of heavy fines due to MoT test failures
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Van owners are at risk of receiving heavy fines and even jail time due to the high number of vans on UK roads that are not kept in proper working order.
This warning has come to light thanks to the high rate f light commercial vehicles that are failing MoT tests. Following the latest Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) review 49% of all LCVs taken for testing fail first time!
Head of service and parts at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Trevor Hodgson-Phillips has commented that, "The latest result show us that UK van owners are still risking increased running bills, extended vehicle downtime periods and, potentially, a decrease in the overall resale value of their vehicle by not looking after their van properly."
There are three main causes for MOT failure; lighting and signalling, brakes and suspension and alarmingly over the past three years there has been very little variance in the number of commercial vehicles affected by these easy to fix problems.
Luckily Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles' Van Centres and Authorised Repairers can carry out necessary maintenance following an express visual check that is performed on every LCV bought in for a service.
It is important to make sure that your commercial vehicle is always fit to drive on UK roads, it is equally as important to ensure that your LCVs have the correct van insurance for your vehicle type.
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