Sat-nav most important option on new vans

Satellite navigation is the most popular option fitted to new vans, according to research from the annual Nissan Van Report.

The report found that 45% of van drivers, and 40% of fleet operators, felt that sat-nav is an essential feature on a new van, coming ahead of parking sensors, bluetooth and vehicle trackers.

With the credit crunch still biting, both van drivers and fleet operators are striving to force efficiencies from their day to day operations. The result is the changing face of the van market which puts sat-nav ahead of driver comforts such as electric windows, heated mirrors and air conditioning; ensuring drivers arrive at their destination via the quickest and safest route.

Modern day sat-nav systems will re-route the driver in order to avoid traffic jams, not only delivering time efficiencies but also fuel savings as a result. With over 80% of those surveyed covering 200+ miles a day and almost three quarters of fleet operators looking for ways to save on fuel costs, fitting sat-nav as standard on vans could be the way forward for van manufacturers.

The research comes as the debate rages around proposed EU laws forcing van manufacturers to fit speed limiters to vans; couple this with the fact that around 10m new vehicles have hit the roads in the last 25 years and it becomes even more important to fleet operators and van drivers that the vans are running on the best possible route.

Barry Beeston, corporate sales director at Nissan GB, said: “We are always keen to find out what our customers are looking for and what they want in a van; so while this research is quite light-hearted, it does have a serious side which feeds into the development for future commercial vehicle products, as we are focused on delivering what our customers want.”