Steadplan

It’s not been a bad couple of years for van brand LDV, with the LDV EV80 winning the Company Car & Van Electric Van of the Year in both 2019 and 2020.

Not one to rest on their laurels, however, Chinese owners SAIC rebadged the brand as Maxus in June while simultaneously launching two new vans, the Deliver 9 and eDeliver 3, their all-new medium electric van.

Watching this progress closely has been North of England-based MAN dealers Steadplan, a long established truck, moving floor and tipping trailer dealership with bases in

Leeds, Burnley and Rochdale. Managing Director James Smith and his team are specialists in conversions for both retail and fleet customers and in 2017 added the MAN TGE large van franchise to their portfolio. This opened up a whole new market to Steadplan, and it has seen them rise steadily to become one of the top MAN TGE sales dealers in the UK.

What MAN does not offer, though, is a lower price-point range of vans, nor a medium-sized van – and that’s where Maxus comes in. Its all-new large Deliver 9 van and the smaller electric eDeliver3, which will compete with the

Vauxhall Vivaro-e and Citroen e-Dispatch in the growing EV van sector, offer new options for its customer base, so Steadplan was delighted to add the Maxus franchise, too.

James told CC&V that Steadplan had “a ready-made customer base in Lancashire and Yorkshire who are looking for an electric van, one that offered them a decent range and was quick to charge.”

He added: “With our existing conversion expertise the Maxus Deliver 9 chassis cab adds another string to our bow. “

Steadplan now has a van, electric van or van conversion for all types of customers, including home delivery, local authorities and those after a specialist conversion, such as a horse box or camper van. Steadplan can offer customers daily van rental at its sites in Leeds, Rochdale and Burnley.

Their Maxus dealerships are located at: n Whitehall Industrial Estate, Ashfield Way, Leeds LS12 5JB n Kirby Road, Lomeshaye Industrial Estate, Burnley, BB9 6RS. n Prestige House, Chichester Street, Rochdale, OL16 2AU.