Another corporate customer which found the Volkswagen Group Leasing offering too compelling to resist was a healthcare charity, Sue Ryder Care, which has now replaced its existing fleet of disparate vehicles with 25 Volkswagen LT 35 commercial vehicles, plus up to 10 Caddy vans.

These have been supplied by Volkswagen Group Leasing g on five-year contract hire arrangements at 24,000 miles per annum with full maintenance. The new commercial vehicles comprise 17 Volkswagen LT35 MWB 2.5 TDi 109ps chassis cabs complete with Luton bodies and tail lifts and eight LT35 MWB high roof 2.5 TDi 109ps fully ply-lined panel vans, supplied through the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles van centre in Birmingham.

Roy Smith, central services manager at Sue Ryder Centre, said the decision had been taken based on a need for reliability and known maintenance costs linked to competitive pricing. “We need our vehicles to be as reliable as possible as they are performing an essential role for our retail outlets around the UK. The ease of servicing was another prerequisite, as was the pricing of the vehicles and the need for identifiable maintenance costs. Volkswagen Group Leasing was able to satisfy all of our criteria and we had no hesitation in selecting them,” he said.

Graham Wheeler, managing Director of Volkswagen Group Leasing said: “There are few other groups that would be able to offer their customers a selection of executive vehicles, such as Bentleys and Audi’s, through to the practical range of vans available from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

“These latest fleet contacts epitomise the sort of success we have been seeing ay Volkswagen Group Leasing so far this year. Our real strength is in the medium-sized fleet market, where customers value good service, reliable products and known maintenance costs. And we have seen a particular success in the corporate, fleet and rental markets with our commercial vehicle offering which has the flexibility and versatility to meet most fleet needs”, he added.