ROADTEST
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RENAULT B110-50
• When Renault launched the B range — a heavier stretched version of the Master — we assumed that it would oust the ageing Dunstable-built 50 Series from its entrenched position with the public authorities. Worldwide Renault has already sold 80,000 B Series vehicles, but between 1987 and 1990 its share of the UK 3.5-7.4-tonne market fell by more than 20%, due mainly to increased competition in the retail and distribution sectors.
Ten months after its British launch the French-built 5/6-tonne range of vans, chassis-cabs and chassis-cowls is claiming around 4% of the market. This has made a slight dent in sales of the company's established range, but in this weight class Renault's overall market share has increased to about 22.5%.
Ford dropped its A Series to pull out of this sector at the end of 1983. Even in the good years total sales between 3.51 and 7.4 tonnes do not top 6,000 units, and last year fewer than 5,000 registrations were shared among three main contenders. With Iveco Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Renault Trucks taking almost 90%, MAN/VW and Leyland Daf were left to pick up the crumbs.
The gamble in the UK is that volumes could grow considerably given time, the EC and a change to the LGV threshold. If the professional driver licensing classification were lowered to start at 3.51 tonnes to come into line with most of the EC, Renault argues that the present bulge at 7.5 tonnes would be dispersed more evenly between 3.5 and 10 tonnes. However, history shows that purchasing patterns always move up the weight range, so we believe that there would be little change in demand about 5/6 tonnes unless something was to reduce the popularity of the 3.5-tonne class, where registrations reached nearly 45,000 as recently as 1989.
In any case, the Renault B110-50 welded steel integral van is a good example of the breed, offering a large body and useful payload. Up to five tonnes GVW only the Iveco Ford 49.10 TurboDaily offers more than the Renault's 14m" of load volume — together with 220kg more payload. The VW LT45 high-roof and Mercedes-Benz 410D also take heavier payloads than the Renault, but as our comparison chart shows their load volumes are considerably less.