DriveIt; the Light Commercial Vehicle Show

UK Construction Media reviews the second annual DriveIt exhibition which took place in Bruntingthorpe between 7th – 9th July.

Earlier this month saw the second annual DriveIt event take place.

Lasting for three days, the Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) show is the only one of its kind in the UK which brings buyers and sellers together in one place, giving the opportunity to test drive any vehicles to find out their suitability for any individual’s particular business.

The exhibition is also fortunate to be able to count on the support of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which is vital to the success of DriveIt.

SMMT is in existence in order to promote the UK’s automotive industry both at home and abroad, working with member companies to be the voice of the motor industry, promoting its position to the Government, stakeholders and the media.

The overall event itself was very impressive. During the time spent there, details were given about the industry, how vehicle registrations are on the rise, and experts from a range of fleets were on hand to give advice on which vehicles would be suitable for which businesses.

Potential buyers were able to try out a host of vehicles exhibited by Ford, Merecedes-Benz vans, Renault UK, Citroen, Vauxhall, Peugeot, Fiat, Renault Trucks, Izuzu, to name a few.

A personal experience saw the testing of a Peugeot CV Boxer Van. Given the chance to get to grips with the driving qualities of this LVC was interesting enough, but more so was delving deeper and finding out exactly the type of advantages available to construction companies.

This included the fact that the vans have an option whereby the terrain travelled on could be detected and speeds/braking amended accordingly. This is especially reassuring for those taking heavy loads from site to site.

Elsewhere, Citroen went to innovative lengths to reassure potential customers that vans, despite the opinion of some, handle very well in all conditions.

A rally driver was on hand to take people around the track in their vans, taking corners at a minimum of 70mph in the process.

Of course, this is not what a construction company would or should use the vehicles for, but the wider point was made in an interesting way; vans are much easier to handle despite the common perception.

SMMT’s involvement in this event is important. Their constant presence and that of their members helps to make DriveIt the success that it is.

During the event, SMMT celebrated the growing demand of LCVs this year in comparison to what has gone before.

Commercial vehicles have reached a record half-year total of 209,515, with the van market hitting a high of more than 186,000 registered in the first six months.

The number of vans purchased in June exceeded 35,000, which represents a rise of 16.4% from June 2014. Meanwhile, the total up to now this year is almost 20% higher than in 2014 and in terms of the rolling year, there has been an increase of 20.2% in van registrations.

Trucks also fared well in June with a 41.5% jump from June 2014 and in the year to date, 23,111 trucks have been registered; a 40.6% rise.

It continues a trend that has seen LCVs to 3.5 tonnes increase every year since 2012. As it stands, 2015’s figure is set to comfortably eclipse that of 2014 which topped 300,000 new registrations.

But what can the increase be attributed to? Nigel Base, Commercial Vehicle Manager at SMMT, believes it is a combination of factors that are working together, with business confidence, home deliveries and the rise in self employment pinpointed.

He said: “If you look at unemployment for example, about 50% of the reason for the drop is self employment. So electricians, plumbers etc are coming into the market.”

The advantages of personal leasing were also highlighted because, as Nigel added, it makes “vehicles easier to purchase,” given that companies or self employed specialists can pay around £300 a month to lease a vehicle.

This and the fact they are cheaper to run make them an important and viable alternative to larger industry vehicles.

Nigel added: “Vans are cheaper, more flexible, cheaper to run and do about 30 miles to the gallon. The productivity is better because you can use a van 24 hours a day.”

But as much as the positive news about record vehicle registration, SMMT was also extremely keen to get another message out into the public domain; concerning the safety aspect of driving LCVs.

There is a need to raise awareness with the Department for Transport in particular interested in ensuring that vehicle operators drive and load in the safest way possible.

Nigel explained that in the market of MOT failures, 20% of cars fail at first presentation and although the figure is the same for trucks, when they are taken to a franchise dealer, failure drops to 5%, with some a 100% pass rate recorded by some dealers which, Nigel said, “tells you something about the regulation.”

“That’s not a good statistic and also tells you something about the condition of these vehicles,” he said.

“Also, when the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) stop these vehicles at the roadside, 91% are overloaded, so it’s a concern.”

Much of the overloading issue is done entirely innocently, with workers unaware that they are doing so.

SMMT is looking to raise awareness through self-regulation with the help of the DVSA, Freight Transport Association (FTA), and Road Haulage Association (RHA). SMMT’s members are also working hard to raise awareness and are fully cooperative in the process.

Leaflets have been produced and distributed, and there are daily walk-round checks.

Nigel continued: “It’s about culture more than anything. I don’t think people are deliberately overloading. It’s just about education.

“We don’t see the need for regulation but rather to raise awareness. You’ll always have the serially non-compliant but they are a tiny proportion.

“Most people, if you gave them enough evidence, would become aware of it.”

The challenge is making sure companies know when they are overloading vehicles, at what point they become too heavy and therefore dangerous, and ensuring that this message makes its way down the supply chain to end users and operators.

While this process is going to take time, it is a problem that SMMT believes is solvable.

So the experience of DriveIt was the whole package; enjoyable and informative regarding the use of the fleets, and eye opening in terms of what has been achieved by commercial fleet vehicles and what needs to be done in the future.

The exhibition is a must for anybody in the industry.

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