Following the Transporter 6 win last year, the VW Crafter range is the 2017 International Van of the Year
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has gone back-to-back in the International Van of the Year Award.
After winning the award last year with the Transporter 6 model, VW has won the IVOTY 2017 award with its new Crafter range.
Judged by 24 European motoring journalists and presented at the IAA Commercial Vehicles Show in Hannover, Germany, the award results placed the Volkswagen Crafter with 101 points, a mere 12 points ahead of the PSA Group’s Peugeot Expert/Citroën Dispatch and Toyota Proace.
The new Euro 6 Iveco Daily was next in line, followed by the Ford Transit Custom Euro 6 and the Hyundai H350.
With 10 new models in the running for the award, International Van of the Year jury chairman Jarlath Sweeney says it was great contest.
“Congratulations to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles on achieving successive wins in the International Van of the Year Award with the all-new Crafter II taking up the mantle from the Transporter,” Sweeney says.
“It was again a very close contest and compliments must also go to the PSA Group on producing an excellent and innovative new product line for today’s light commercial vehicle marketplace.
“Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ investment in not only developing a stand-alone product, but constructing it in a new assembly plant is noteworthy.
“We wish the new Crafter ever success.”
Available in four base models, three lengths, and three heights, the new Crafter range was praised by the jury for its configuration offering, new manufacturing facility in Poland, and new styling.
Its comfort, smoothness, safety, and handling were also highlighted by the judges.
Receiving the award from Sweeney, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles board of management chairman Dr. Eckhard Scholz says the company took a customer-first approach to the new range.
“The development of the new Crafter was a unique opportunity to avoid all compromises while drawing upon our decades of experience in the market segment,” Scholz says.
“The new Crafter represents a fusion of product focus and customer focus. In other words, we developed this vehicle from the customer’s perspective.”