The manufacturer will announce the deals at the 2005 Commercial Vehicle Show which opens at the NEC today.

It has so far clinched five big fleet orders within two months of the launch of the Maxus, the product of a £500 million investment by LDV and its venture capital backers.

They have ensured the firm has hit its initial production target of 200 units a week.

The two biggest fleet contracts have been placed by Opti Rent, which is buying £3 million-worth of vans, and by TLS Vehicle Rental whose order is worth £2.5 million.

LDV's biggest customer, Royal Mail, which has bought 200 vehicles so far this year, is appraising the Maxus

'The fleet operators have spent the past two months assessing Maxus and discussing finance and now they have placed firm orders,' an LDV spokesman said. It had also received about 2,000 expressions of interest from smaller operators.

'Some customers are talking about replacing existing LDV Pilot and Convoy vehicles with Maxus, and some are interested in switching from some of our rivals.'