Rental company Europcar has taken delivery of its 200th Daily vehicle after expanding on a deal with Iveco to include Pantech-body trucks.
Europcar put the first Daily into its fleet less than two years ago and has found the model to be a great fit.
Europcar fleet procurement and planning head Laura Harewood says the company had no hesitation in investing in the Daily range to further grow its commercial rental fleet given the strong performance of earlier models.
“Since having the Daily 35S van model in our fleet, the feedback from our clients has been very positive.”
The Pantech-body trucks have 12 cubic metres in volume capacity and over 1.5 tonnes of payload and are ideal for rental applications, she says.
“It’s a great size in that it has a solid payload and carrying capacity while still being easy to drive and manoeuvrable.
“We have a range of customers using the Daily product, from those renting it for the weekend to move house, all the way through to freight and transportation companies who might take a vehicle for several weeks to meet a contract need or while their vehicle is off the road for maintenance.
“For the most part though, our clientele are not regular drivers of commercial vehicles, so we need to provide them with a vehicle that drives very similarly to a passenger car, and the Daily shines at doing this,” Harewood says.
All the Daily vehicles available to rent from Europcar feature Iveco’s 8-speed Hi-Matic full automatic transmission matched to either a 2.3-litre turbodiesel engine (Daily Van), or a 3-litre turbo-diesel engine (Daily Cab Chassis).
In terms of safety, both vehicles have four SRS airbags, front and rear disc brakes with ABS, electronic brake-force distribution, electronic stability program, anti-skid regulator, hill holder and more.
The vans are also fitted with a factory bulkhead and window plus a Bluetooth-equipped radio with steering wheel mounted controls and reversing buzzers.
“Another benefit for our clients is that the Iveco Daily range is good on fuel, and for Europcar, as a business, we get the longevity of a quality engine as well as long oil change intervals of 40,000 kilometres for reduced downtime,” Harewood says.
“The rental market is a competitive industry and one way Europcar sets itself apart is to have the most modern commercial fleet possible.
“We typically refresh our commercial vehicle fleet every two to three years to provide our customers with the very latest in vehicles and technology.
“The Daily’s styling is at the forefront, and our customers like the way it looks – people want to drive a smart looking van, even if only renting it for a short time.”
Rising to meet COVID-19 challenges
Europcar Mobility Group recently launched the ‘Together’ program across the group globally in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
As part of this program, Europcar in Australia will work in partnership with food retailers and logistics companies in order to offer a rental service of light commercial vehicles with drivers, to help meet the increased demand for logistics and delivery services across the country, while also keeping the Europcar operations team in employment.
Discussions are already taking place with some of the country’s largest supermarket chains and food retailers.
Every vehicle now undergoes rigorous cleaning and disinfecting measures after each rental, as well as a ‘zero contact’ policy with Europcar employees in branches.
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