TNB speaks to Mandy Dean, Director, Commercial Vehicles, Ford of Britain and Ireland, about what the manufacturer will bring to the CV Show.
Why is the CV Show important to you?
As the UK’s market leader in commercial vehicles for 55 years, the CV Show provides the best opportunity in the calendar year to show off our latest products to prospective customers and listen to their feedback. Our business objective is to make their businesses thrive, and the CV Show hosts so many of those UK business owners, employees and vehicle users – all under one roof.
What are you highlighting/showcasing at the show this year?
Ford will return to this year’s show with brand-new, state-of-the-art products and services. The all-new E-Transit makes its public UK debut on the stand, an all-electric version of the van. The E-Transit will deliver around 200 miles of range and will be available with a generous choice of body, length, roof height and gross vehicle mass options. Trials of the New E-Transit van and converted chassis cab have already begun in the UK with last-mile and supermarket delivery operators and utility providers. The stand will also include a dedicated Ranger zone, featuring the latest limited edition Raptor, plus new Stormtrak and Wolftrak editions and the new Ranger MS-RT. The new Ranger Stormtrak – based on the premium Ranger Wildtrak series – has an even higher specification. A limited run of 1,050 UK vehicles will be built to ensure exclusivity, available as a double cab for UK customers. We will also display vehicles from our portfolio of qualified vehicle modifiers, including the MS-RT commercial vehicle range, VFS Transit low-floor Luton, Clarks welfare van and refrigeration and freezer vehicles from Paneltex.
Favourite CV Show memory?
We’re in the process of making it now, but bringing a gold-liveried Transit to the show in 2015 as we celebrated the 50th birthday of the vehicle is a particularly fond memory. The celebrations culminated on the Transit’s birthday in August that year.
Advice for anyone attending the show for the first time?
Not sure what advice we can give with regards to other sites to visit at the show or places to eat. However, for those attending for the first time, a good introduction is the live Ford Live demo on our stand. It will show how we can track customer vehicles to recommend proactive intervention with regards to service, maintenance and repair to maximise customer van uptime and productivity.
What are your anticipated highlights for this year?
The opportunity to see and speak to our customers – both existing and prospective – especially after the past 18 months. These people have kept the country moving, so we’d like to thank them and help them.
