Thames Water have ordered 900 Ford vans
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Thames Water have ordered 900 Ford commercial vehicles in the Thames Water livery.
The order is to take place over three years with the first 223 vehicles having already been delivered and now patrolling London and South East England.
The vehicles chosen by Thames Water from the Ford commercial vehicles range include the Ford Fiesta van, Transit Connect, Transit Custom, Transit and Ranger models.
the new vehicles will be adorned in Thames Water's livery and equipped by Bri-Stor Systems at their Southall workshops.
Ford Direct sales manager Stephen Gafson has said, "We are delighted to have won this new contract with Thames Water, and to have come out on top in the company’s very thorough review and tender process."
VW Caddy and Amaok owners to expect emissions recall letters
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Do you own a Euro 5 compliant Caddy van from 2008 or an Amarok pick-up from 2011?
Well don't be shocked when you receive an emissions recall letter from Volkswagen as both the Caddy and Amarok vehicles have the defeat-device fitted for cheating emissions tests when the vehicle is in a test-environment. The defeat-device and associated software will require fixing at a local Volkswagen centre - an estimated 80,000 vans.
According to Volkswagen's UK Brand Director Karl Zu Dohna the VW Transporter and Crafter owners will not be expecting these recall letters as these models are not affected.
British Gas to take ownership of 8,000 VW Caddy Vans
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British Gas have announced that they will be renewing their fleet with 8,000 Volkswagen Caddy vans as part of their planned vehicle replacement programme.
A new three-year deal between British Gas and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will see the energy company take ownership of 8,000 new Caddy Maxi vans, all decked out with the British Gas colours and insignia.
The new vehicles will all be converted to British Gas specification by Bri-stor with the entire fleet being supported in the long term by Volkswagen's aftersales program.
Head of Fleet at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK Chris Black has commented, "Securing a new three year deal with British Gas is a great success, and testament to the quality of the Caddy model and excellent service provided by the Volkswagen Van Centre network."
"British Gas will be one of the first fleets in the UK to take delivery of the new Caddy 4. We continue to work extremely closely with the team from British Gas and were extremely pleased that representatives from the company were able to visit the factory recently to see the first of their Caddy 4 models roll off the line, painted in their distinctive blue colour."
Van sales continue to rise in September
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Van sales have continued to show strong growth throughout September.
According to figures released by the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders), van registrations were up by 19.6 per cent totalling 58,744 new vehicles registered in September.
The van market is up 17.4 per cent year-to-date with 284,161 vehicles registered.
SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes has said, "The van market – buoyed by robust business confidence and the ongoing trend towards online deliveries – shows no sign of slowing."
As usual Ford have continued to be top-dog with 15,753 registrations - 26.8 per cent of the total, however this is down on September last year where ford held a clean 30 per cent in September 2014.
Vauxhall had a strong month with it's 6,010 registrations securing it second place; followed by Mercedes, Volkswagen, Citroen and Peugeot.
Volkswagen to face fines over US emissions scandal
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Literally meaning "people's car", Volkswagen have managed (so far) to alienate a vast majority of their current and potential customer base in what is being referred to as "the diesel dupe".
The German automobile manufacturer has admitted to cheating emissions tests within the US by fitting more than 11 million of their vehicles with what is being called the 'defeat device'. While it isn't currently clear on exactly how the device works it is currently believed to be able to detect when the vehicle is in a test environment and when it is on the road.
When in a test environment the defeat device uses computer software to alter the engine's power and performance causing it to run well below normal use, thus giving out better readings. Then once the vehicles were back on the open road the engines would switch over from this test mode to offer their real-world performance, resulting in nitrogen oxide pollutants that were up to 40 times above what is allowed in the US.
The defeat device was found by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in the US and Volkswagen have immediately come clean, holding up their hands about the deception.
Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn has issued a personal apology for having “broken the trust of our customers and the public” as well as VW America boss Michael Horn admitting, "We've totally screwed up".
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