Many of the most outstanding manufacturers, service providers and individuals in the light commercial vehicle industry were able to get into the Christmas spirit early on 13 December as the prestigious What Van? Awards once more took place at The Brewery in central London.
Almost 400 guests, at least 100 more than the previous year, gathered together at the exclusive venue to recognise the best in the LCV business. They enjoyed an excellent three-course lunch, washed down by fine wines before celebrity host, comedian Tom Ward, took to the stage to provide the entertainment following an opening address from What Van? editor James Dallas.
“The LCV market is constantly evolving, improving and rising to meet the challenges that confront it, and at the moment, of course, we are still faced by the considerable obstacle of Brexit, which for far too long has deprived automotive businesses and, in particular, suppliers, of the certainty and secure conditions they need to function effectively and plan for the future,” said Dallas.
“But the light commercial vehicle industry remains resilient despite the surrounding political and economic turmoil. Exciting new products have been launched in all the main market sectors this year and with standards universally high, it is not an easy task to separate the best from the rest.”
Ward introduced the award categories, and the Highly Commended recipients in each category were applauded before the trophies were handed to the winners by Dallas, What Van? events director Chris Milton, and representatives from the 2019 What Van? Awards sponsors Nextbase, Leaseplan, RoSPA, Trucksmith, Vehicle Accessory Solutions, Vantastec, Lightfoot, Sortimo, ODO, FORS and Ensto.
Comedian Tom Ward with Isuzu boss William Brown and Mark Lovett from sponsor Leaseplan
The Combo, Partner and Berlingo shared the main award
For 2019 we expanded the pantheon of awards to include 22 categories with the addition of Rental Company of the Year, Leasing Company of the Year, and a second reader-voted prize, Insurance Company of the Year, alongside the established Converter Award.
We once more opened the doors to the What Van? Hall of Fame to welcome another worthy entrant and, last but by no means least, revealed the overall What Van? Light Commercial Vehicle of the Year.
And for 2019 the most coveted accolade went to PSA’s trio of new light vans, the Citroen Berlingo, Peugeot Partner and Vauxhall Combo. PSA Peugeot-Citroen acquired Opel/Vauxhall, which was previously owned by General Motors, in 2017 and the three models are the first to be launched by the expanded group.
Dallas said: “PSA has raised the bar in terms of driveability and load-carrying practicality.”
Two wheelbase lengths are available in all three vans, payloads go up to a class-leading 1,050kg, while load volume extends to 4.4m3.
An outstanding 1.5-litre BlueHDi Euro6.2-compliant diesel engine is available with outputs of 75hp, 100hp and 130hp, and will be joined in 2019 by a 1.2-litre Puretech petrol engine with 110hp and 130hp outputs. The higher-powered petrol engine, like the 130hp diesel, will get the slick new EAT8 auto transmission.
Other highlights of the event included: the new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter taking the Large Van of the Year award, a notable feat considering it pushed last year’s Light Commercial Vehicle of the Year, the VW Crafter, into second place; the revised Ford Transit Custom, the UK’s biggest-selling LCV by a distance, winning the Medium Van prize; market newcomer the Mitsubishi Shogun Commercial scooping the 4×4 category; and the Iveco Daily Blue Power range capturing the Editor’s Choice award.
The Small Van prize went to the Ford Transit Courier, which is likely to face stiff competition from its revived sibling, the Fiesta Van, next time around. The Nissan eNV200 captured the Green Award, Isuzu’s D-Max held onto its Pick-up of the Year award, and Volkswagen retained the best website vote, while the brand also scooped the Used Van prize for its enduringly excellent Transporter.
Other winners included Leeds City Council in the Green Fleet category, telematics platform LEVL-Geotab in Innovation, and County Rental and Leaseplan respectively took the inaugural rental and leasing company awards. Our readers voted Adrian Flux to the podium to become the first recipient of the Insurance Company of the Year Award. Steve Bridge, Mercedes-Benz’s resourceful and innovative head of vans, was deservedly ushered into the Hall of Fame.
The Brewery looking resplendent
