Mitsubishi have revealed their view if a diesel electric hybrid L200 at the Geneva Motor show.
Labelled ‘Concept GR-HEV’, Mitsubishi will try to tap into the large European sales numbers of L200’s (over 615,000 units, out of the 1.42 million units exported between 1992 and 2012).
The Great Wall Steed 4×4 double-cab pick-up now comes in two new special edition models – the ‘Steed Chrome’ and ‘Steed Tracker’. Both special editions go on sale this month.
Adding to the high levels of standard equipment found on the entry-level Steed S, both models represent savings of at least £800 over the accessories purchased individually.
Read moreVolkswagen have unveiled their ‘e-Co-Motion’ concept vehicle at Geneva. It is an electrically-powered van looking much like a trendy Transporter.
As the van would mainly bwe used in the city, VW have specified that it is highly manoeuvrable with a small footprint with good all-round visibility and a high seat position. The electric drive unit is mounted to the rear axle together with a single-speed planetary gearbox to achieve large wheel turning angles at the front axle. As a result, its turning circle is 8.95 metres, unique in this vehicle class, but greater than the London taxi’s 8 metres. The continuous power output of the compact drive unit is 68 PS with a maximum power of 115 PS.
A top speed of 120 km/h allows driving on motorways, batteries permitting. A modular battery concept manages the trade off between payload and range. A battery with a capacity of 20 kWh could be installed for driving ranges of around 100 km, while a battery with 30 kWh would enable a 150 km driving range. Finally, a battery with 40 kWh storage capacity is planned for the top driving range of 200 km.
Read moreThe National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA) published its Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) market report for January.
The report shows that during January the average values of used LCV’s at auction across the board decreased from £4,700 to £4,315, equivalent to a 8% decrease between December and January. However this is a less pronounced decline than the 4% when compared with November’s market. Comparing to the November market gives a more realistic indicator of the market than December where volumes were extremely low.
Total sales rose significantly in January from 3,551 to 6,138, representing a month-on-month increase of a massive 73%. Again this should be taken in the context of seasonally low volumes during December.
Read morePostgraduate students, in the first year of the Royal College of Art’s vehicle design course, recently presented their ideas for the delivery van of the future to senior Citroën design chiefs. In developing their ideas for the urban van of the future, the project saw participants taking inspiration from a wide variety of sources, including nature, architecture and current technological trends.
The results of this original thinking included innovative emergency service vehicles, dual-purpose delivery/leisure vehicles, amphibious delivery vans and collapsible and expandable delivery vehicles. Taking first place was Alexander Ibbett’s submission, for a concept inspired by the ‘train’ formed by a mother duck and her ducklings. Using individual wheeled modules (the ducklings), linked in a train to an electrically driven tug (the mother duck), this concept is designed to improve household deliveries, while cutting labour costs.
Read moreSince its launch in 2008, the second-generation Kangoo Van has 400,000 business customers across Europe. The new, phase 2 version follows hot on the heels of the Mercedes Citan launch, covering the entire Kangoo range, from Kangoo Van, and Kangoo Maxi, to Kangoo Van Z.E. and Kangoo Maxi Z.E.
No doubt the extra work put in by the Renault and Mercedes-Benz engineers have paid dividends for the French brand as well as the three-pointed star.
The changes are immediately apparent, including the introduction of a new front end which incorporates the styling cues of Renault’s new design language, with a more prominent, vertically positioned logo.
Read moreCitroën will be showing its all-new Berlingo Electrique van at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show (NEC, 9-11 April). This 100% electric van builds upon Citroën’s experience of electric LCVs in the UK, which was gained with the first generation Berlingo Electrique launched in 1998.
The Berlingo Electrique’s electric motor is positioned under the bonnet and the lithium-ion battery pack is located underneath the vehicle’s load deck. This means the load compartment of up to 3.7m3and payload of 636kg is equivalent to that of a similar diesel-powered Berlingo van.
With a total battery capacity of 22.5kWh, the Berlingo Electrique has a range of up to 106 miles. Using a domestic socket, the vehicle can be fully charged in around 8½ hours or, alternatively, it can be charged to 80% of capacity in only 35 minutes using a specific 380V three-phase terminal in quick-charge mode.
Not long to go until the Commercial Vehicle Show and Workshop 2013 opens at Birmingham’s NEC, the organisers report a strong flow of space applications covering all sectors of the UK industry.
“Halls 4 and 5 are just about full to capacity and it looks as though the same will be said for Hall 3a,” said Geoff Dunning, representing Show Partner the Road Haulage Association.
Read moreFord did not have a single new car to unveil at Detroit this year. Instead the attention was entirely on its commercial vehicle range, plus a concept for what could be the next F-Series pick-up truck.
But when 47 per cent of the commercial vehicles on American roads are Fords and the Transit has been the UK market leader for almost half a century, it is perhaps forgiveable that the auto industry’s workhorses should be allowed into the parade ring for once.
Ford revealed a new Transit to replace the current model in Europe and the E-Series in North America, and a new Transit Connect.
In the US the new Transit will be available with a 3.7-litre V6, the 3.5-litre Ecoboost V6 and, for the first time, a diesel – a new five-cylinder 3.2-litre unit belonging to the company’s Duratorq family. There is no word yet about the European powertrain options.
Read moreCommercial vehicle leasing company, the Autorama Group, best known for its Internet sales operations www.vanarama.co.uk and www.pickuptrucksdirect.co.uk, has become the first on-line leasing broker to qualify in the *IMI recognised, Automotive Sales Specialist Award.
The six month programme, developed by automotive sales training specialist PAR Training and Development, combined bespoke training and personal coaching with competence-based skills assessments on a number of sales tasks.
Autorama took advantage of the Government’s drive to up-skill the motor industry by sourcing adult learning funding to help maximise training potential amongst its salesforce.
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