Vauxhall Motors Special Vehicles has become the biggest supplier of low and intermediate Police vehicles in the UK after winning contracts for six police regions in a tender process initiated by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA).
The contract wins mean that 37 (71%) of the UK's 52 Police Authorities are now contracted to buy Vauxhall vehicles. The agreements - which will see the delivery of around 7,000 cars and vans over the next four years - include a broad range of Vauxhall models, including the Corsa, Astra, Insignia, Astravan, Combo, Vivaro and Movano.
The manufacturer says many factors contributed to its success in winning the tenders, including excellent value for money, low emissions, the Turnkey Vehicle Solution initiative for rapid turnaround of replacement vehicles, service support and Vauxhall's involvement with the Association of Chief Police Officers' (ACPO) work on Single Vehicle Architecture.
The Turnkey Vehicle Solution initiative from Vauxhall Special Vehicles - initially offered on the Astra in 2008 as an industry first - provides customers with rapid turnaround replacement vehicles when a quick response is needed to get emergency services back on the road. New turnkey models that have just been launched include the new Combo with prison cell and the new Movano Protected Support Unit (PSU).
Vauxhall is also working in a consortium with ACPO's Intelligent Transportations Systems Working Group on Single Vehicle Architecture (SVA). SVA provides a standardised specification to which all manufacturers and suppliers can adhere, allowing them to produce common wiring for equipment and connection points. This will allow plug-and-play of electronics, reducing the time needed for equipping and decommissioning vehicles.
James Taylor, fleet sales director at Vauxhall, said: "We are delighted to have won so many of the tenders and our success proves that Vauxhall's infrastructure and superb range of vehicles are the best."
Dick Ellam, Vauxhall Special Vehicles manager, added: "A key factor in our success is our approach to the supply chain. The only element we outsource is the delivery of the vehicle to the customer - everything else in done in-house under our control. We are therefore able to make savings for the Police fleets in the time it takes to bring their vehicles into service."
The full list of all six Police regions, and the 37 Police Authorities, for which tenders have been won includes: Chiltern Transport Consortium - Thames Valley, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Civil Nuclear Constabulary, South East Special Operations and Counter Terrorism Units; North East - Cleveland, Northumbria, Durham, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Humberside; East and West Midlands - West Mercia, West Midlands, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire; Scotland - Northern Grampian, Tayside, Central, Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway, Lothian and Borders and Fife; South West - Devon and Cornwall, Avon and Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire; and North West - Merseyside, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire.
Vision - 22/10/2011 22:42
Congratulations to Vauxhall, all manufacturers were given the specifications and quality to work to and choice to participate in the make up of SVA. On the downside however remains the blatant fixing on the specifications put out by a number of forces to exclude better value vehicles with things like minimum length clearly demonstrate the crude methods being taken to retain pet marques. These practises should be challenged as they are costing millions. Read Dr Horne comments in the white paper and do the sums.