Fiat vans excel at customer satisfaction in UK new van fleets
According to statistics from the UK Fleet Van Market Report 2018, a survey of 1088 'fleet decision makers,' Fiat vans led the way for customer satisfaction.
The UK Fleet Van Market Report 2018
The report was undertaken by Sewells Research & Insight and with 1088 important decision makers from the new van fleet world, it represents a large amount of real world van fleet knowledge. The participants, "responsible for running light commercial vehicle (LCV) fleets that range from a handful of new vans to several thousand" were requested to rank 13 new van manufacturers on a total of 33 different criteria, ranking everything from new van performance to value for money and aftersales support.
The new van report is highly comprehensive, with two new van manufacturers particularly standing out from the competition: Mercedes vans were given the highest rank of "very satisfied" ratings in 13 of the total 33 categories, leading the way in the very important areas of reliability and overall build quality.
The highest number of "very satisfied" ratings however were given to Fiat vans, with van fleet experts saying they were "very satisfied" with Fiat vans in 14 of the 33 categories, which included cost effectiveness.
Also performing well in a number of categories were Toyota vans and Citroen vans. Somewhat surprisingly at the other end of the scale, Ford vans only achieved the "very satisfied" ranking in one category. Even more surprising when you consider that Ford vans has comfortably the UK's best-selling new van in the Ford Transit Custom, the iconic Ford Transit and best-selling new pick-up van in the Ford Ranger.
It was also a surprise the performance of Volkswagen vans in the report, with a range including International van of the Year 2017 and WhatVan? LCV of the Year 2018, the Volkswagen Crafter. Despite their glowing reputation and premium image, Volkswagen vans failed to make the top three in any of the 33 categories.
2018 - A challenging year ahead
The report also looks at the general position of the new van market as it starts a new year. The conclusion of 2017 saw a decrease in new van sales, with believe that the economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit played a part in the decrease.
Diesel still dominates
The report reveals that 99 percent of new van sales are still diesel in the UK, notwithstanding the growing capability of alternative fuel options including electric vans. A number of van operators continue to communicate range anxiety as a concern when looking at electric vans, however the report states: "almost one third of vans drive fewer than 50 miles per day" a distance that can easily be covered by new electric vans.
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