CV Focus

Graham Holder, Head of Compliance and Certification at FORS, joins our host for this week’s episode on compliance in the fleet operations industry. A membership scheme designed to support best practice within the industry, giving fleet operators accreditation which demonstrates their quality assurance to clients and customers, FORS gives peace of mind to every operator and creates a centralised criteria for operations. In this episode Graham discusses the benefit of joining FORS for vehicle...

Where is the world with Electric Mobility? Here Andrew Scott, Head of Electromobility at Renault Trucks UK gives his take on the progress with vehicles in the commercial vehicle sector. Andrew thinks that the tipping point for take up on zero emission vans is coming and the demand for trucks won’t be far behind. The current supply and demand issues across the sector means that there is a great choice already on offer to fleet operators. With a full range of vehicles from 3.1 tonnes to 26...

Graham Holder, Head of Compliance and Certification at FORS, joins our host for this week’s episode on compliance in the fleet operations industry. A membership scheme designed to support best practice within the industry, giving fleet operators accreditation which demonstrates their quality assurance to clients and customers, FORS gives peace of mind to every operator and creates a centralised criteria for operations. In this episode Graham discusses the benefit of joining FORS for vehicle...

In this episode of CV Focus, our host talks all things EV with Chris Chandler, who is Principal Consultant at Lex Autolease. A key focus for Chris is sustainability and he has been a major influence in gaining greater market acceptance and take-up of EVs across the UK. In fact, he’s been in GreenFleet’s '100 Most Influential People in Fleet’ for the last four years running. Throughout the episode, the discussion revolves around the journey from traditional fuel to EV both for private and...

Are people at the centre of your business? Have you ever thought about the drivers behind the wheels of your business vehicles? In this episode, Simon Turner joins Matt behind the mic - bringing to the table his experience with the organisation ‘Driving for Better Business’, an initiative created by National Highways which offers a free service to help businesses nurture the talent and value they hold in their drivers and vehicles. Simon talks about the ‘Driving for Better...

Getting to the bottom of the driver shortage If you only select one podcast episode this year, then this is the one you must to listen to. In a powerful analysis, Kieran Smith, CEO of Driver Require, explains why the current HGV driver shortage has happened, why no-one saw it coming and what should be done to solve it. He describes the current situation like “trying to grab onto a train passing through the platform – it’s just ripped our arms off.” Kieran heads an...

Breaking down barriers There's a growing range of electric vans now available, but one of the hurdles is what you do when you want to charge your van, particularly as so many employees take their vans home, but around 80% don’t have a driveway in which to charge it. That's all about to change, as JustPark is introducing a new charging solution, enable businesses to accelerate their transition to electric vehicles. JustPark will identify a suitable location to install a private...

Intelligence is the difference… From the outside a trailer looks like a box on wheels; but now technology will tell you everything about it from where it’s going, where it is in real-time, what the temperature is (if it’s refrigerated) and so much more – even when the door was last opened. Alan Hunt, MD at Schmitz Cargobull UK and Ireland explains why the intelligent trailer – such as reporting the brake pad and tyre pressures – is so important, by benefitting operators with...

It’s the star of the silver screen, from James Bond movies to Top Gear and soaps, yet the Bedfordshire-based test facility is also a top-secret site. John Proctor, Technical and Special Projects Director – UTAC CERAM Millbrook, lifts the lid on what happens at the comprehensive testing facility, comprising laboratories and real-world testing environments. He explains how they test electric vehicle’s batteries to destruction – literally - by setting fire to them, and simulating...

Where are we going to get all the power from to charge electric vehicles? Russell Fowler, Senior Project Manager Transport Decarbonisation, National Grid, answers the key questions as the nation’s electricity distributor gears up for the 2030 deadline. Over the next nine years National Grid is preparing for all new cars and light vans to be electric, ready for the 2030 deadline. Russell says that current forecasts are for around 10-11 million EVs on the road by 2030. What does...

The view from Ireland: Jarlath Sweeney, Editor-in-Chief of the Irish trade magazine ‘Fleet Transport’ (https://fleet.ie) chats with Matt Eisenegger about everything from the state of the economy to secondhand vehicles in this must-listen specially-extended podcast. He starts by explaining the impact that the withdrawal, over the next 3-5 years, of Ulster Bank from the Republic of Ireland will have on small businesses. “Ulster Bank has been a strong supporter of small and medium...

Staying ahead of the game “This is the change decade. We will see more change this decade than we’ve seen since the switch from horse-drawn vehicles.” So says Richard Crump, MD of Pelican Group - the West Yorkshire-based truck, bus and coach dealership, service and parts supply operation. Pelican Group is the oldest truck dealer in the country, founded 102 years ago by Richard’s grandfather after he was de-mobbed from the First World War’s trenches. Having started by...

LNG, CNG, green gas, brown gas, grey gas, bio-gas – many different names, but it’s all the same stuff. So you’re confused? Be confused no more as Jorge Asensio López from Iveco explains the reasons for the different names and what it really means for operators looking to switch to gas. Matt and Jorge go on to unpick in detail the positive impact of using gas – compared with diesel – and on operators’ bottom line. They also cover government incentives to go greener, what’s available from...

This episode ends the year with industry expert and analyst Tim Campbell getting out his crystal ball for his vision for the truck industry. He talks passionately about the Government ten-point plan, the 2040 target for zero emission trucks and the opportunity for accelerating decarbonisation in transport. With logistics and trucks on everyone’s lips and screens in the run up to Christmas this is a pivotal time for commercial vehicles. A powerful and positive episode to end 2020 on...

Arguably, there’s been more development in vehicles and technology over the last five years, than the previous 15. This week Matt Eisenegger talks with one of those genuinely at the cutting edge: Aaron Thomas, Co-Founder and MD of TRAILAR, which uses solar panels on the roofs of vehicles to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. He explains how, along with Co-Founder Denny Hulme, the idea was developed as part of a DHL management development program, to fulfil a brief of ideas to...

The logistics sector has seen sweeping changes this year and had to adapt rapidly to circumstances. To find out more, Matt Eisenegger chats with Adam Purshall, Fleet & Procurement Director at leading logistics operator Bibby Distribution. “We’ve had to change, but it forces you to change – such as in digitalisation – it brings forward a lot of things,” says Adam of the business that has 1,400 staff operating from 45 UK locations. Adam talks about its all Euro 6 fleet, and the extra fuel...

Here’s a challenge: How do you make home deliveries greener and more economical? One answer is lightweighting the vehicle and increasing its capacity – both in payload and space terms – so that it can do more deliveries before returning to base, have lower running costs and be easy for drivers to use. That’s not a new challenge, but thanks to the clever use of new technology, Penso Group’s ‘Blue Ocean Pods’ is delivering a solution that works. Daniel Hurcombe, MD of the...

CNG, LNG and biogas - it’s all methane - so what’s the difference? Explaining everything you need to know about gas is James Westcott, Chief Commercial Officer for Gasrec, which supplies infrastructure, such as refuelling stations. He sets out the advantages of using gas - that it’s cleaner and cheaper than diesel - and ready technology that’s available now for heavy-duty-cycle trucks and buses. With Gasrec’s DIRFT, Daventry, station already filling around 350 trucks from 20...

It’s not everyday that a new manufacturer arrives on the truck market. Even less so when their product is electric and radically different to anything else on the road. In an exclusive interview with Volta Trucks’ CEO Rob Fowler, CV Focus discovers the driving forces behind this exciting new venture, and why such a radical and different delivery truck will be on streets all over the country pretty soon. Part of this is that Rob Fowler doesn’t come from a vehicle manufacturer, but...

At 64,000 sq ft - the size of a football pitch - and with 39 vehicle bays, AGS’ brand new Heathrow dealership is the largest undercover workshop of its kind in the country. What’s more, of the £6m investment to build it, £1m has been spent on making it ready for electric commercial vehicles, from bespoke bays and equipment to its own sub-station. AGS Joint MD Paul McGerty tells us why it’s been future-proofed and what working with customers based at Heathrow is really...