Vauxhall And Royal Mail In £200m Delivery Van Signing
Published: 12th November 2002
The deal is one of the largest orders for light commercial vehicles ever placed with one vehicle manufacturer in the UK and worth around £200 million at showroom prices.
Royal Mail opted for Vauxhall after a tender process that saw five vehicle manufacturers and a number of contract hire companies bid for the supply of vans for the next five years in a specially held online e-auction.
The Combo vans will replace Ford Escort vans and Peugeot Partners which currently deliver the nation’s post.
As well as the standard specification Combo van, launched at the end of last year, Royal Mail will also order an as yet undecided number of the five door version, the Tour, which is currently only available in mainland Europe, and may also order a number of Combos with the highly popular optional sliding side door.
The decision to opt for Vauxhall came after an exhaustive evaluation process that considered whole life costs, dealer support, maintenance issues and environmental considerations.
"Vauxhall offered the best value for money across all the factors that we took into consideration," explained Tony Shaw, purchasing manager at Royal Mail’s vehicle services unit.
Vauxhall fleet sales director Maurice Howkins said the new order from Royal Mail renewed a business relationship that had existed a number of years ago.
"We used to supply the then Royal Mail with their
postal delivery vehicles, and so are delighted to be renewing
our business relationship with them."
