WHAT VAN ? - Fiat Professional wins two honours at What Van? Awards 2017

• Fiat Professional wins two honours at What Van? Awards 2017
• Doblo Cargo named Light Van of the Year for second successive year
• Fiorino Cargo wins Small Van of the Year category
• Awards underline strength in depth of the Fiat Professional LCV line-up
• Range further strengthened with arrival of all-new Talento and Fullback pick-up

The strength in depth and all-round appeal of Fiat Professional’s light commercial vehicle

line-up has been highlighted again with a brace of coveted category wins at the prestigious What Van? Awards 2017.

First the hugely successful Doblo Cargo was named Light Van of the Year by the influential title for the second year running.

This capped an incredible 12 months for the widely-acclaimed model in which it was also named Light Van of the Year by VansA2Z and Best Small Van by both Van Fleet World and Trade Van Driver.

Meanwhile, the Fiat Professional Fiorino Cargo – the compact van built for the city – fought off fierce competition to be named Small Van of the Year.

The awards judges were impressed by the Doblo Cargo’s versatility and practicality as well as the driving dynamics and comfort delivered by advanced features such as the van’s sophisticated bi-link suspension.

In the case of the Fiorino Cargo, the model’s frugal engines and compelling whole-life financials set it apart from the competition.

James Dallas, Editor of What Van?, said: “Being both versatile and practical, the Doblo Cargo remains the best light van around.

“And with its frugal, Euro6 engines, the Fiorino Cargo makes a great deal of sense for any city-based operator.”

Accepting the award, Alejandro Noriega, Country Manager at Fiat Professional, said: “We are hugely proud of both the Doblo and Fiorino and are delighted to see them claim two more high profile awards for our brand.

“These awards are particularly special as they are awarded by a panel of experts who truly understand the LCV market and who know what van customers are looking for.”

He added: “These awards are further evidence of the strength and competitiveness of Fiat Professional’s van line-up, which has recently been bolstered by the arrival of the all-new Talento and Fullback pick-up, and underline the huge strides the brand is making as it aims to achieve its growth aspirations and further enhance its reputation.”

With a payload of up to one tonne, a load volume of up to 5.0m³ and a range of highly efficient engines, the multi award-winning Doblo Cargo has proved a big hit with fleet operators. The Doblo 1.3 90 HP MultiJet II Tecnico is currently available from £149 per month (exc VAT) on business contract hire.

The Fiorino meanwhile is perfectly designed for the city – agile in traffic and easy to park while retaining and impressive load capacity of up to 2.8m³ and a payload of up to 660kg. The Fiorino 1.3 75 HP MultiJet II is available from £139 per month (exc VAT) on business contract hire.

FIAT professional division wins prestigious Fleet award.

• Fleet Van Award judges reward FIAT Professional’s “incredible commitment to fleet customers and its willingness to engage and act on fleets managers’ views” in 2014 Awards.
• The FIAT Professional vehicle range also praised, with the FIAT Fiorino named City Van of the Year thanks to its “ideal payload and configuration, backed by excellent manufacturer and dealer support”.
• Judges describe FIAT Professional as “the benchmark by which to rate all van manufacturers.”

FIAT Professional has been named "Van Fleet Manufacturer of the Year" in the prestigious 2014 Fleet Van Awards, a significant accomplishment for the brand as it not only highlights the broad appeal and versatility of the FIAT Professional vehicle range, it also recognises the efforts of the brand to continually enhance the scope and quality of services it offers to all of its fleet customers in the UK.

In awarding FIAT Professional the "Van Fleet Manufacturer of the Year" award, the Fleet Van judging panel noted: "Last year’s ‘Highly-Commended’ fleet manufacturer finally secures top spot after further improvements in product quality and manufacturer support for fleets and the broader fleet sector. FIAT Professional’s incredible commitment to its fleet customers and its willingness to engage and act on fleets managers’ views, as well as its excellent model range, made it a worthy winner.”

The judges pointed to innovations such as FIAT Professional’s parts supply policy which is reducing downtime and improving VOR, and the fact that its vehicles and engines form the basis for many other manufacturers own models. The judges summarised FIAT Professional’s 2014 performance as “The benchmark by which to rate all van manufacturers.”

Sebastiano Fedrigo, Director, FIAT Professional UK, commented: "We are absolutely thrilled to be named ‘Van Fleet Manufacturer of the Year’ in the 2014 Fleet Van Awards – we have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to give our fleet customers the very best support and service by listening attentively and responding immediately to their needs, so to have our efforts recognised like this is hugely gratifying. With a whole range of new models coming on stream in the near future - each offering even better quality, economy, refinement, comfort and style - we will redouble our efforts in 2015 to ensure FIAT Professional remains the brand of choice for fleet customers across the UK.”

The FIAT Fiorino has once again seen off strong competition to claim the "City Van of the Year" title for the third consecutive year. Competing vehicles are compared across a number of core fleet criteria, including payload and versatility; safety and technology; fuel efficiency and emissions; reliability and dealer back-up; comfort and performance and, of course, overall running costs.

Stephen Briers, Editor-in-Chief of Fleet Van, noted: "The Fiorino has the ideal payload and configuration for city use and is backed by excellent manufacturer and dealer support. Strong, highly efficient engines and low SMR costs put it ahead on running costs and make it the perfect city van for fleets.”

In reference to the FIAT Fiorino, Mr. Fedrigo commented: "It speaks volumes about the excellence of the FIAT Fiorino that it continues to impress Fleet Van judges. Winning the "City Van of the Year" award for third consecutive year shows that the qualities that made it such a critical and commercial success when it was first launched – its winning combination of practicality, comfort, reliability and economy – continue to be as relevant to the segment as ever before."

FIAT Professional was also highly commended in the “Green Fleet Manufacturer of the Year” category for its continued efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its vehicle fleet.

The annual Fleet Van Awards, now in its seventh year, recognise the accomplishments of vehicle manufacturers, fleet operators and suppliers and are highly coveted by the light commercial vehicle industry. The judging panel includes members of the Fleet News/Fleet Van editorial team as well as an independent team of van experts.