What Van? Britain's biggest and best van buyers' guide

Autoglass has refreshed its 1250-strong Ford Transit fleet by taking delivery of 90 new Transit Customs – 44 years after it first invested in the Ford vans.

The windscreen firm said it is increasing the size of its staple vans from the previous short-wheelbase van to enable its technicians to carry the larger windscreens that are now popular in modern cars.

Autoglass fleet manager Ged Raymond said: “The glass we have to carry is getting bigger and therefore so must our vehicles. The 290 LWB Transit Custom meets our needs perfectly.” Autoglass has also taken the decision to roll out Ashwoods Automotive’s Lightfoot Eco-drive system across its fleet.

The firm claimed extensive trials of the driver efficiency tool indicated it could cut fuel costs by 15% as well as improving driver safety. Lightfoot provides visual and audible alerts to encourage more efficient driving and also includes an ‘idling’ function to remind drivers to switch off the engine.

Ashwoods said Lightfoot reduces the need for driver training by using a traffic light system to indicate how efficiently a van is being driven – enabling drivers to make immediate adjustments to improve fuel economy.

Autoglass boss Matthew Mycock said Lightfoot cut out the huge amount of data produced by traditional telematics systems, which businesses do not have time to decipher.

“Within a couple of days of using the tool we see many of our drivers go from spending 55-60% of their time in the green zone to hitting 90% and higher,” said Mycock.