A catering butcher called Fairfax Meadow has taken delivery of 10 Iveco Daily Agile chassis cabs on full service contract hire –the first examples of the popular light commercial vehicle range to enter operation in the UK with the new factory-fitted six-speed automated manual transmission.
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The fleet replaces ten existing Daily models based at the company’s Kentish Town distribution centre in north London, and they will operate on major delivery routes in central London and inside the M25 (the circular motorway surrounding the greater London area).
Fairfax Meadow, part of Argent Group Europe Ltd, is also using the introduction of the new trucks to trial fuelling with part-biodiesel, manufactured by sister-company Argent Energy in Motherwell.
This ‘environmentally friendly’ road fuel contains a blend of 5% biodiesel to 95% mineral diesel, offering improved engine lubrication whilst burning more completely and reducing emissions.
Fairfax Meadow group national transport manager Mike Reid said in a statement: “We trialled a demonstrator from Iveco and felt the automatic gearbox was extremely driver-friendly. We soon realised that it would be ideal for operation on our routes in the centre of London and surrounding urban areas.
“Other benefits we are expecting to see… include reduced clutch wear and consequent reduction in unexpected downtime and improved fuel efficiency,” he added.
Iveco arranged training for each driver, focusing on the two gearbox modes – completely automatic or manual sequential gear selection – using a lever on the dashboard.
The transmission is an ‘intelligent’ system and adapts automatically to each drivers’ individual style.
Fairfax Meadow operates 44 Iveco Daily chassis cabs from six depots in England and Wales. The new vehicles all have 116hp 2.3 litre ‘HPI’ diesel engines.
