While most manufacturers are encouraging dealerships to separate their van and car businesses, Peugeot is going the other way, believing that keeping cars and vans together offers a better total fleet solution.

Fleet director Phil Robson points out that most van fleets also run cars too, so customers who come into a Peugeot showroom can get their requirements satisfied in one go.

He said: "At Peugeot we believe in keeping things simple. We instruct our dealers to do three things: a) Find out who’s in business in their area b) Contact them and c) keep in touch with them.

"We also insist that our dealers have real salesmen with real knowledge who can offer a total fleet solution. They can offer advice on which vehicles to choose, funding options and tax implications if necessary."

There are a total of 265 dealers across the UK, 120 of which are designated as Fleet Business Centres and 60 of those labelled the ‘crème de la crème’.

Robson said: "We don’t believe in separating cars and vans. After all, most people who run vans run cars too and when they come into a dealership we can talk to them about both rather than doing vans in one place and sending them across the road for their car requirements. We want to keep things in one place so all fleet requirements can be catered for."

The strategy appears to be working. With an extra nine people appointed to Peugeot’s central fleet team, van market share rose from 5.6% in 2008 to 6.9% in 2009. YTD sales this year bring market share up to 8.55% and Robson said there was a significant order bank going forwards.