Lower Your Cost Of Motoring - hints and tips from Vansdirect.co.uk - the UK's largest independent van retailer

Fuels

Fuel is probably the largest single cost when running your vehicles – in many cases it can be higher than the leasing or rental cost, or the depreciation or servicing on outright purchased vehicles. And yet many companies do not know how much they are spending, or are unaware of the opportunities to minimise this cost.

Diesel is by far the most popular fuel for vans. Although diesel is on average 7 pence per litre more expensive than petrol, diesel engines achieve much higher mpg figures and are therefore cheaper to run. This saving is especially significant for vans, which tend to cover much higher mileages than cars. There is also an operational advantage. Diesel engines generate greater torque (pulling power) than their petrol counterparts and they are therefore better suited to driving a laden van.

Normally aspirated and turbo diesel engines work by injecting the fuel into the cylinders as a liquid, which is ignited by pressure as the piston closes. This is not a very efficient process and can cause a percentage of the fuel to be emitted and a percentage to only partially burn - leading to the dark smoke often associated with diesel engines.

Many manufacturers have now added common rail diesel engines to their van ranges. Fuel is pressurised in the “common rail” prior to injection, which occurs as a vapour, resulting in more efficient fuel burning at higher temperatures. Common rail diesel engines offer significant fuel savings alongside increased power. Emissions are also reduced, as are noise levels.

Petrol vans exist primarily to convert to LPG. Very few petrol-engined vans are run by businesses because typically they are significantly less fuel-efficient than diesel. However, certain small vans, such as the Ford Ka, are only available with a petrol engine as these are the only engines available in the cars on which they are based. Due to their lack of popularity, second-hand values of petrol vans are low. This means that not only are the running costs higher than diesel, but depreciation is also higher.

Alternative fuels can offer significant cost savings, especially to high mileage users. LPG is the most popular alternative fuel, with an average price around 40 pence per litre thanks to reduced fuel duty. Potential savings are, however, reduced by increased depreciation (they are based on petrol vans). An additional cost is also incurred to convert the vehicle to LPG. This can be over £1,500, though Powershift grants are available which can cover up to 70% of the cost. From an operational point of view, remember that the volume and weight of the tank can reduce the vehicle’s load capacity. An additional benefit is that so long as emissions are 40% better than the Euro IV standard, alternatively-fuelled vehicles are eligible for 100% discount on the London congestion charge.

LPG conversion for vans deserves special consideration because the mileage at which LPG becomes the cheapest fuel for a van is higher than for a car because petrol-engined vans have a much lower Residual Value, which makes the monthly costs higher. The Residual Values on LPG vans are lower than for diesel vans by up to £1,500 because of the poor used market for petrol vans. This means that an annual mileage of 20-25,000 miles is required for the fuel cost saving to cover the cost of the conversion and the effect of the reduced Residual Values.

Because only petrol engines can be converted, the number of vans which can be converted to LPG is limited to those where a petrol engine is offered. Many panel vans (such as those manufactured by Citroen, Peugeot and Renault) are available only with diesel engines – most car derived vans are however available with petrol engines. The table below details the vans which are currently available as factory bi-fuel vehicles or which can be converted.

	Factory	Conversion
Car Derived Vans	Vauxhall Astravan	Vauxhall Astravan Ford Fiesta Van
Light Vans		Citroen Berlingo Renault Kangoo Vauxhall Combo Volkswagen Caddy Peugeot Partner
Small/Medium Panel Vans		Mercedes Vito 113 Volkswagen Transporter Toyota Hiace
Large Panel Vans		Ford Transit Mercedes Sprinter Volkswagen LT35 Fiat Ducato

Although the savings can be significant, an even greater saving may be achieved by moving to a more fuel efficient new generation diesel engine. For lower mileage vehicles it will be more cost effective to consider an efficient diesel engine instead of LPG.

Other alternative fuels include compressed natural gas (CNG), electricity and hydrogen fuel cells; though operational limitations make them unsuitable for most van applications.
 

As there is no legal requirement for manufacturers to publish fuel economy figures for vans as with cars, reliable MPG figures are hard to gather. An added complication is the wide variety of load weights and journey variations (including the number of stops per day) from user to user, which can result in large differences in the real world MPG figures achieved by different operators in the same vehicle. The following table summarises the MPG figures achieved by What Van? Magazine during their road tests. This is not an exhaustive list, but a guide to the variances between models and engines. Vehicles are listed within each category in descending order of fuel efficiency.

Vehicle Type	Model	Engine	BHP	MPG	Fuel Tank (Litres)
Car Derived Vans	Vauxhall Corsavan	1.7D	60	52	46
	Peugeot 206	1.9D	70	49	50
	Vauxhall Astravan	1.7DTi	75	48	52
	Vauxhall Astravan	2.0Di	82	43	52
Hi Cube Vans	VW Caddy	1.9SDi	64	49	54
	Citroen Berlingo	2.0HDi	90	48	60
	60
	Peugeot Partner	2.0HDi	90	48	60
	60
	Vauxhall Combo	1.7D	60	42	50
	VW Caddy	1.9TDi	90	39	54
	Renault Kangoo	1.9D	65	35	52
	Citroen Berlingo	1.9D	71	35	60
	Peugeot Partner	1.9D	71	35	60
Small Panel Vans	Citroen Dispatch	1.9TD	92	35	80
	Fiat Scudo	1.9TDi	90	35	80
	Mercedes Vito	2.2CDi	122	32	78
Medium Panel Vans	Ford Transit 330	2.4DTi	120	33	80
	Peugeot Boxer 270S	1.9TD	92	31	80
	Citroen Relay 1000	1.9D	71	28	80
Large Panel Vans	Ford Transit 330/350	2.4DTi	120	33	80
	Peugeot Boxer 320/350	2.5TDi	110	31	80
	VW LT28/35	2.5TDi	90	30	80
	Renault Master	2.5D	80	27	70
	Vauxhall Movano	2.5D	80	27	100
	Iveco Daily	2.8TDi	125	26	70
	Renault Master	2.8TD	115	25	70
	Vauxhall Movano	2.8DTi	115	25	100
Pickups	VW Caddy Pickup	1.9SDi	64	39	42
	Ford Ranger	2.5TD	78	33	70
	Ford Ranger	2.5TDi	109	31	70
	Nissan Pickup	2.5TDi	104	27	80
	Toyota Hi-Lux	2.4TDi	90	27	77

 

• Lower fuel consumption
• Reduced wear & tear on the vehicle
• Less vehicle down time
• Also remember that your vans, signwritten with your company logo, are a mobile advertisement for your business - aggressive or discourteous driving could damage your customers’ perceptions of your company.

The typical cost of hiring

Route Planningcan also help reduce your fuel spend, and is especially important where vehicles are carrying out multiple drops. To help you in planning the most efficient routes there are a number of web and software-based tools available which allow detailed directions to be printed out and handed to drivers. For example, the AA website has a free route planning service which will give the fastest or shortest route between 2 points, even travelling via a number of other locations along the way if required. The AA website address is www.theaa.com