Vauxhall commercial vehicles shows rivals a ‘green’ pair of heels

For the second year in a row, Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles has carried home the title of ‘LCV Manufacturer of the Year’ in the annual Green Fleet Awards.

The prize ceremony, hosted in central London, recognises vehicle manufacturers, suppliers and related industries that have made significant contributions towards reducing their carbon output and furthering their commitment to sustainable transport.

And Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles, which won the inaugural 2006 Green Fleet LCV Manufacturer of the Year award for its low CO2 models, has repeated its success in 2007.

The Green Fleet judges, comprising a panel of motoring journalists, key fleet customers and industry experts, praised Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles for its ongoing commitment to sustainable fuel sources. The panel singled out the company’s B30 Biodiesel fleet trials and availability of LPG conversions on its smaller models as key factors in the decision to award the title to Vauxhall for the second year running.

Vauxhall’s parent company, GM, is Britain’s biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles, with around 100,000 vans a year produced in the UK at two of GM’s most efficient sites. The GMM Luton plant builds the Vivaro panel van and its variants, while the popular Astravan is constructed at GM’s Ellesmere Port factory – home of the Astra hatchback.

Sales of Vauxhall vans have more than doubled since 2000, thanks to success driven by models such as the British-built Vivaro, the seriously big Movano and a wide range of approved conversions, while smaller vans such as the driver-oriented Corsavan and Astravan, plus the massively popular Combo further strengthen the marque’s profile in the LCV market.