• At the 2014 edition of the “Fleet Van Awards” the judges reward Fiat Professional for their “incredible commitment to fleet customers and its willingness to engage and act on fleet managers’ views”.

According to the panel, Fiat Professional is “the benchmark by which to rate all van manufacturers”.

For the third year running, the Fiat Fiorino has claimed the “City Van of the Year” title thanks to its winning combination of practicality, comfort, reliability and economy, as well as the excellent support ensured by official dealers.

Fiat Professional has been named “Van Fleet Manufacturer of the Year” in Britain at the prestigious Fleet Van Awards 2014, a significant accomplishment that not only highlights the great appeal of the Fiat Professional range’s versatility but 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.

Now in its seventh year, the prestigious annual “Fleet Van Awards” recognise the accomplishments of vehicle manufacturers, fleet operators and suppliers through a judging panel of international experts, including members of the Fleet News/Fleet Van editorial team.

I awarding FIAT Professional the “Van Fleet Manufacturer of the Year” award, the Fleet Van panel observed: “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 the models of many other manufacturers. The judges summarised by saying: “Fiat Professional is the benchmark by which to rate all van manufacturers.”

For the third year running, the Fiat Fiorino model has claimed the “City Van of the Year” title ahead of strong competition. Competing vehicles are compared across a number of core fleet criteria, such as payload and versatility, safety and technology, fuel efficiency and emissions, reliability and dealer back-up, comfort and performance and, of course, overall running costs. According to the panel: “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.”

The prestigious “Fleet Van Awards 2014” received by Fiat Professional join another two important awards won recently by the brand in Britain. In July, the Fiat Doblò Cargo was named “Fleet Van Of The Year 2014” by the panel of the “Motor Transport Awards 2014”, the most important recognition in the category of road-transport vehicles, while the Fiat Fiorino, for the third year running, was named “Best Light Van 2014” in the “Van Fleet World Honours 2014”.