Now in its 15th year of production, the old stager will be receiving a new engine that will meet the forthcoming Euro 6 exhaust emission regulations. It will be getting a facelift too and is set to continue in production at the Ludwigsfelde plant near Berlin beyond 2013. “We sell about 500 Varios in the UK annually,” UK van sales and marketing director, Steve Bridge says.
Despite continued warnings about cutbacks in public spending and the impact that this could have on, for example, the construction industry, he’s quite optimistic about the light commercial market. “We reckon that the sector we compete in — 2.6 tonnes upwards — will be up by 20 to 25 per cent this year,” he says. That is of course in the wake of a disastrously-low market in 2009.
