vanuser August 2017 S


o the government has made its move on diesel and petrol vans (and cars). The sale of new vehicles will be banned


from 2040. Of course it’s claiming the move as a big


feather in its environmental cap. The response – from both ‘sides’ of the


debate – has ranged from cautious approval to outright hostility. Campaign organisation FairFuelUK branded it as “a cliff edge... naive and ill-thought out” while Friends of the Earth described it as a “a cynical move to grab headlines”.


The news release about the government’s plan landed in the VanUser in-tray as we were putting together the last content for this issue. As you’ll see on the following pages, much of our news and features talk about alternative fuels. We have Dan Gilkes’s reports on his fi rst drive of the range-extended electric Kangoo and a CNG-powered Caddy; we also carry news of a major order of electric Peugeot Partners for the Royal Mail and of an autonomous delivery project using an electric van. And there’s a lot more besides.


While we support any moves towards a


cleaner, greener transport fl eet, we don’t have a propagandist agenda. But the reality is that there’s a momentum building towards a future less and less dependent on diesel and petrol-powered vans and cars, with a public increasingly open-minded about these ‘new’ technologies.


Let the government claim some credit


for setting down a marker, but maybe the market was ahead of it anyway.


Simon Tooth, Editor


20 BACK TO BASICS


Safe tyre


management and your business


10 TOP TIPS COVER


An electric van used in the Transport Research Laboratory’s GATEway Project in Greenwich, south London. The organisers are working to understand and overcome the technical, legal and societal challenges of implementing automated vehicles in an urban environment.


vanuser


Published by Countrywide Publications Fountain Way, Reydon, Suffolk IP18 6DH


T 01502 725800 W www.vanuser.co.uk


24 LOAD HANDLING A VanUser promotion


Editor Simon Tooth T 01502 725838 • M 07771 926643 E simontooth@micropress.co.uk


Advertising manager Chloe Hine T 01502 725835 E chloe.hine@micropress.co.uk


Technical editor Dan Gilkes T 01842 898473 • M 07802 751473 E dangilkes1@mac.com


Advertising executive Chloe Francis T 01502 725844 E chloe.francis@micropress.co.uk


30 MY VAN Meet tattooist Tim Bailey and his 2011 Citroën Relay


Editorial assistant Jade Matthews T 01502 725840 E jade.matthews@micropress.co.uk


Design and production Mark Shreeve T 01502 725839 E markshreeve@micropress.co.uk


VanUser August 2017 3


22 ALTERNATIVE FUELS Caddy on gas


4 INSIGHT What’s new What’s trending What’s topical


9 INSIGHT Gateway to an automated transport future


15 ROAD TEST Kangoo goes the extra mile


18 ROAD TEST


Dropside and tipper options extend Hilux appeal


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