Vauxhall van variety appeals to Johnson Controls

The wide variety of van specifications on offer from Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles, proved particularly appealing to Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions when recently replacing a fleet of 60 vehicles.

Johnson Controls, the leading provider of facility management services, required vehicles for use on a contract to maintain buildings and equipment at over 600 service stations across mainland Britain. This called for different types of van to suit widely differing operating needs. The company also wanted to give its 60 engineers working on the contract a direct say in the specification of the vehicle that each of them would drive.

The engineers’ choice was based on two models, the medium-sized Vivaro or the larger Movano. In the case of the Vivaro, Johnson Controls specified the Sportive models, of which there are as many as 39 options available on the Vivaro Panel Van and 34 different panel van variants. Standard Sportive features include air-conditioning, electrically operated windows and mirror adjustment, and a stereo radio/CD player.

In the case of the Movano, the engineers could choose short or long wheelbase and standard or high roof. The Movano offered a choice of three wheelbases – short, medium and long – and three roof heights. A crew cab option was also available.

They could also select engine power ratings in the Vivaro ranging from 66 kW/90 PS or 85 kW/115 PS from the 2.0 litre CDTi engine or the 2.5 litre CDTi, which delivers 107 kW/146 PS. The 2.5 litre was also available at this rating in the Movano along with two lower ratings, 73 kW/100 PS and 88 kW/120 PS.

Engineers based in urban areas and faced with stop-start traffic conditions could opt for Vauxhall’s Tecshift automatic transmission in lieu of the standard 6-speed manual transmission.

Load capacity was also a factor as the vans would carry a range of tools and equipment needed for different types of job. This could include items as large as scaffolding towers used for work on station canopies. Signage, fluorescent tubes, perspex panels and other bulky items might also need to be transported and, for larger jobs, a team of two or three engineers. The excellent carrying capacity of both models – and particularly the Movano at up to 13.9 cubic metres – allowed easy matching between the size of van and the operational needs.

”The new Vauxhall vans are proving to be popular with the engineers. They’re a good quality vehicle, easy and comfortable to drive, and with a high level of specification,” says Dr Richard Vowles, Customer Business Director at Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions. “The Vivaro Sportive model is highly regarded for its extra level of specification that includes air conditioning and our choice of the optional satellite navigation system for traffic information, is proving to be very beneficial.

“From Johnson Controls’ point of view, choosing Vauxhall gives us several advantages. These vehicles are based throughout the country and the availability of an extensive network of Vauxhall service centres means that servicing and repair support is always close at hand. It’s a few months now since the first entered service and we’re already finding them to be very reliable and fuel efficient.

”We’re also very pleased with the appearance of them. We opted for an attractive metallic silver and the quality of the two-coat factory paint finish is very good, leaving us only to apply our Johnson Controls logo. They certainly look very stylish and present a professional image when they’re on the road or on our customer’s forecourts.”