CITROËN'S DOUBLE SUCCESS AT VANS A2Z AWARDS

March 7, 2016 by Citroen Commercial

Citroën retained the 'One-Stop Shop' title – and won the best 'Diesel Eco Van' prize – at the Vans A2Z Awards, held in Twickenham at the end of last week.

For the second year in a row, and against strong competition from across the industry, Citroën's recently expanded 'Relay Ready to Run' and 'Ready to Run Specialist Range' programmes were voted the most comprehensive packages offered by any UK manufacturer – securing the 'One-Stop Shop' title.

In the Diesel Eco Van of the Year category, the Citroën Berlingo took the top honour. The judging panel praised the Berlingo for its impressive fuel economy, its emission-reducing technologies and Citroën's efforts in providing greener motoring for fleets through a variety of other cost-saving initiatives.

The availability, choice and quality of the ever-evolving list of conversions included in Citroën's specialist ready-bodied programmes impressed the Vans A2Z judges. The Relay Ready to Run range is currently being expanded – joining the established range of high-specification, competitively priced tippers, dropsides and Luton vans are: Plant & Go small plant hire carriers; car transporters and crew vans.

Vans A2Z Editor, Neil McIntee, had first-hand experience of the Berlingo's eco credentials, having steered a Berlingo BlueHDi 100 S&S manual L2 750 LX to the top of its class in the Fleet World MPG Marathon last year. In the event, the Berlingo returned 68.64mpg – a figure that was almost 2% better than its official combined cycle fuel economy figure (67.30mpg). 'The new Euro 6 BlueHDi 100 engine has strong mid-range torque characteristics, which aids fuel economy and further improves the driving experience in real-world conditions,' said McIntee.

The Citroën Berlingo is unique in its sector, because customers have a full complement of powertrain options. As well as the BlueHDi diesel engine variants, there is a Euro 6 petrol-powered version that can be converted to LPG and a full electric version of the van too. The Berlingo van's other eco credentials includes micro-hybrid technology and its associated stop-start functionality. All of this played a key role in the Berlingo van achieving best-selling status in its sector last year with 16,210 units sold and a 19% sector market share.

Jeremy Smith, Citroën's Head of Commercial Vehicles & Business Sector Operations, commented; 'We are delighted to retain the One-Stop Shop title at the Vans A2Z Awards, especially at such an important time in the development of the product range. We are also very pleased to win the Diesel Eco Van of the Year category with the Berlingo, a vehicle that offers the widest choice of factory-built variants in its sector.'