Vehicles must be made more secure
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Vehicle manufacturers are not doing enough to ensure the security of vans, according to a major leasing company.
Lex Vehicle Leasing has more than 17,500 light CVs on its books; it says improved security features would help save millions of pounds a year In reduced premiums alone.
Lex product manager Ian Yates admits the days when thieves could get Into a van and start it up with a screwdriver are gone; he pays tribute to the new Transit, with its sealed door locks and keyless central locking that can operate the loadbay and cab independently.
But he is adamant that more needs to be done by the manufacturers, suggesting that they should fit alarms, window grilles and full steel bulkheads as standard, as well as offering a wider range of more sophisticated systems as options.
Category 1 Thatcham alarm systems and other measures are offered on Lex vehicles, but even the simple measure of fitting a full bulkhead adds to the monthly costs. "The disparity between the attention given to cars and vans is marked. Security features are almost considered irrelevant for vans but in many ways Ifs more important," says Yates.
Lex has lost 44 vans in the past nine months. With an average value of around £20,000 when the load is taken into account, the total bill brushes £1m.
The Association of British Insurers has provided CM with the latest figures for all commercial and fleet claims from 1998 but was unable to break the statistics down further. This category accounts for more than a million claims, compared with just over 300,000 for private cars. The total cost of private car claims was £654m while the cost of commercial and fleet claims came to more than £1.Bbn.
Yates is looking forward to the Renault/Vauxhall Trafic/ Vivaro launch next year. But he fears that if the range lacks more security features it could set a precedent for other makes and set back improvements to standard features by three or four years.