Christmas started early for a host of the light commercial vehicle industry’s leading lights as the glittering What Van? Awards luncheon took place on 11 December at a new venue in central London.
The prestigious London Hilton Bankside, on the south bank of the river Thames, close to the Tate Modern art gallery and Shakespeare’s Globe theatre, played host to the event, which saw 400 of the great and the good of the automotive world gather to celebrate the best in the LCV sector.
Following an opening address from What Van? editor James Dallas the guests tucked into a superb three-course lunch, washed down by fine wines, before host Jo Caulfield took to the stage to provide the entertainment.
In his address Dallas lamented the ongoing economic and political uncertainty caused by the unresolved issue of Brexit and called for a return to the stable trading conditions needed to enable the automotive sector to continue to prosper.
But he added: “The industry remains resilient and vibrant and there is much to celebrate, particularly in the strides that manufacturers and operators are making towards reducing emissions without sacrificing day-to-day working efficiency.”
Dallas went on to thank his fellow judges and the sponsors of the 2020 What Van? Awards: The AA, ALD Automotive, BNP Paribas, Locks 4 Vans, Sortimo, Trucksmith and Vantastec.
Having begun with just five awards in 1989, for 2020 What Van? honoured the outstanding products, individuals and organisations in 24 crucial categories as well as revealing the overall Light Commercial Vehicles of the Year.
The Renault Master and the Vauxhall Movano jointly took the top prize.
What Van? praised the two heavily revised large vans, which are built on the same platform at Renault’s plant in Batilly, France, for their refined and efficient Euro6 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel engines, which span outputs from 130hp to 180hp, the breadth of the model ranges, with load volumes going up to 17.0m3 and top payloads of more than 1,500kg on 3.5t models, and for the wealth of new driver assistance features the brands have introduced to the vans.
The Master and Movano have shared a platform under a partnership between Renault and Opel/Vauxhall stretching back to 1998.
This arrangement, however, will come to an end in the not too distant future when the Movano will come under the umbrella of Vauxhall’s new owner, the PSA Group, and likely become a rebadged version of the Citroen Relay and Peugeot Boxer.
Editor James Dallas, new Hall of Famer Helen Lees, and host Jo Caulfield
The Award-winning Movano
(Continued from previous page) Dallas said: “It is appropriate to recognise the latest, outstanding derivatives of the Master and Movano at the What Van? Awards 2020.
“With an electric model already available and a hydrogen-powered version to come Renault is looking to the future with the Master, which offers a breadth of choice unrivalled in the large van sector.”
Turning to the Movano, Dallas added: “All good things must come to an end and with this likely to be the last Vauxhall-badged large van to emerge from the manufacturer’s long-standing partnership with Renault, the Movano, under its current lineage, is going out in style.”
Other highlights at the What Van? Awards 2020 included Ford winning the Green Manufacturer of the Year Award for the introduction of its Transit Custom PHEV and also taking home the new Minibus of the Year Award for its Ford Transit Minibus, Volkswagen capturing the Medium Van prize with its Transporter T6.1, and MS-RT taking the Editor’s Choice Award for its sporty and innovative Ford Transit Connect conversion.
A pair of new categories joined the group of Industry Awards, with BCA winning out as the Remarketing Company of the Year and Mercedes-Benz Vans retailer Rygor Commercial being crowned Van Dealer of the Year.
In a reflection of the degree to which manufacturers have become intertwined with one another in recent years as they seek economies of scale, and look to share the rising cost of technology between them, the Light Van of the Year Award went to a quartet of vans that share the same platform.
The PSA Group models, the Citroen Berlingo, Peugeot Partner and Vauxhall Combo Cargo, which won in 2019 and also scooped the LCV of the Year prize, were this time joined by Toyota’s debut light van, the Proace City, which is the latest van to join the party.
What Van? also welcomed two new deserving entrants into its Hall of Fame.
The virtues of zero-emission electric light commercials have long been recognised by Helen Lees, UK head of electric vehicles and connected services at PSA Group. The unstinting effort she has put into promoting their advantages is the reason why she has been admitted to the Hall of Fame.
Also ushered in was the Toyota Hilux. Having first appeared in 1968 and with around 18 million examples shifted since then, the Hilux has, in the past 50-plus years, gained a legendary reputation for its almost indestructible toughness and is one of the few light commercial vehicles that can make a genuine claim to hold iconic status.
The Movano shared the LCV of the Year victory with the Master (above)
