VW vans kicks off busy 2015 with new telematics service
Volkswagen Telematics allows real time tracking of van fleets while new Caddy and Transporter are on the way
Volkswagen has kicked off a crucial two-year period in which it will replace or renew its entire light commercial vehicle line-up by launching a new Telematics service for fleet customers.
Volkswagen's smart telematics service has been developed in partnership with the RAC and will use a simple dongle plugged into a van's ECU to monitor all aspects of its usage. For a fee of £12.50 per month, per vehicle, fleet managers will be able to track the location of their vans, get diagnostic updates, monitor driving style and check fuel consumption.
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Volkswagen Telematics also incorporates a Driveline concierge service that will automatically alert fleet managers if their vehicles suffer faults or are involved in accidents. Driveline can also assist in analysing the various data streams returned by the telematics software.
Subscribers to the VW Telematics system will be able to fit it retrospectively to their whole fleet regardless of the make or model of the vans. The data can then be accessed and analysed via phone, tablet of desktop interfaces with mapping functionality and rankings for the company's most economical drivers designed to improve fuel efficiency across the fleet.
Two years, four new Volkswagen vans
Volkswagen is looking ahead to a busy period in the commercial vehicle market. The all-new 4th generation Volkswagen Caddy will be revealed next week before going on sale towards the end of the year. It will be joined in showrooms by the new T6 Volkswagen Transporter that's due to be revealed this spring, possibly as soon as the Geneva Motor Show in March.
In 2016, Volkswagen will lift the lid on a facelift of the Amarok pick-up truck before completing its all new LCV line-up with the all-new Crafter panel van towards the end of that year.
The new Crafter will be the van that severs VW's historical large panel van ties with Mercedes-Benz as, unlike the current model and the one before that, it won't share a platform with the Mercedes Sprinter. The Crafter will be built by Volkswagen at a new £1billion factory in Wrzesnia, Poland, just 30 miles from VW's existing van plant in Poznan.
Volkswagen vans: a strong 2014
Despite an ageing model line-up, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles had a strong sales performance in 2014, claiming 2nd spot in the UK van market with a 12.4% market share. That's still some way behind Ford's 26.4% but Volkswagen's product offensive should help close that gap over the coming years.
In 2014, the marque sold over 45,000 vans in the UK, a 11.8% increase on 2013 and a record year for VW vans in the UK.
