Meanwhile, van manufactures inducted into the Hall of Fame included Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Fiat, Ford and Citroen.
Cartwright, who has been with the FTA for 28 years, is the driving force behind Van Excellence, FTA’s voluntary scheme that promotes best practice and aims to challenge the industry’s traditional ‘white van man’ image.
Acknowledging the award, Jim Magner, FTA’s member relations manager, said: “Mark’s passion for both recognising and raising standards in van operations has been obvious to all of us at FTA since he was appointed head of vans.
“Now the industry is recognising it too and reinforcing the vital importance of the Van Excellence scheme: congratulations Mark and keep up the good work.”
Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz Vans has collected a sixth consecutive Award for Safety, with the newly-launched Vito cited by the judges as offering the latest in safety-enhancing technology.
Nissan’s LCV range took top honours for its five-year or 100,000 mile manufacturer warranty, which now covers its range of petrol and diesel trucks and vans – while the all-electric Nissan e-NV200, which costs just two pence per mile to run, was also highly commended.
Additionally, the new Fiat Doblò Cargo was named Light Van of the Year 2016 for its driving dynamics, robust durability and expansive range – with the judges particularly impressed by its sophisticated bi-link suspension and its segment-leading load and volume capacities.
And the Ford Transit – now in its 50th year – was cited as “the most iconic of vehicles in the UK... Its dominance looks as controlled now as at any point in the last 50 years”.
Ford was also highly commended in several categories including Medium Van of the Year with Transit Custom, Pick-Up of the Year with Ranger, 4x4 Van of the Year with Transit AWD and the Innovation Award for Ford Telematics powered by Telogis.
And finally, Citroën’s LCV website retained its Best Website award for the second year in a row, with the judges praising the site’s van configuration tool as the best in the business.