Renault UK retained its sixth place in a stable LCV market last year, but believes an evolution of its business centre network is key to achieving growth.

Emmanuel Bouvier, marketing director, told AM: “Across Europe we’re in a market where we already have very good service coverage. The challenge is not to grow the network in terms of quantity, but in quality,” he said.

To achieve the global targets set by Carlos Ghosn’s Commitment 2009, the van business will use a strategy of excellent customer service based on three elements – the one-stop shop, a fleet charter with dedicated services and LCV expertise.

Extra effort is being put into LCV marketing. Renault has launched a campaign for its Trafic and Master large vans based on a “You guys are heroes” animated theme. This incorporates billboards, truck backs, banners and print advertising and is aimed at creating a clear pan-European brand image.

It is also targeting specific groups individually. Recent launches of its Renaultvans.co.uk and Renaultfleet.co.uk websites will be followed by an online portal for user-choosers and company car drivers later this year. Louise O'Sullivan, brand manager, said these would advertise market-specific offers and operate as a contact management tool, generating leads to be fed back to the dealer network.

Renaultvans.co.uk, which allows visitors to configure a chosen vehicle, achieved 26,000 visits and generated 422 leads in March, a conversion rate of 1.59%.

In addition, a pilot programme that targeted taxi and private hire businesses with Trafic nine-seater minibuses is being rolled out to the network after it achieved 70 orders from 200 leads.