TNT Express has agreed a trial with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, for 10 of its Crafter single-chassis cabs with box van conversion.
The box conversions are by Altrincham specialist Cartwright to TNT's specification.
The Crafters will be based at TNT's Bristol depot, and were purchased through Volkswagen's Van Centre in Manchester.
"The trial with TNT is a great way of demonstrating the different uses of a Crafter chassis cab and the range of conversions we can offer our customers via our Van Centre network," comments Alastair Hemmings, national fleet manager for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
"Compared with a standard 7.5-tonne vehicle, the five-tonne Crafter will give TNT more flexibility in deliveries and save on running costs, particularly with the fuel efficient engines and very competitive whole life costs," he adds.
"We will be monitoring the cabs over an average annual mileage of around 30,000 miles, and hope to make decisions about our van capacity and vehicle range in the next 12 months," confirms Steve Davis, national engineering manager, TNT Express Services UK & Ireland.
"As with all our fleet vehicles, the Crafter will be assessed on a variety of points including fuel economy, operational activity, ease of maintenance and driver evaluation."
