Ford was the big winner at the ACFO fleet awards, held at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Birmingham this week (November 2).

The company won four of the seven award categories, which included the Ford Focus being voted the number one company car by ACFO members for the first time since 2004.

More than 220 fleet decision makers, industry suppliers and manufacturers gathered for the awards which recognise fleet favourites in car, van and supplier categories. ACFO members vote online for their favourites.

The Ford Transit Connect Van was voted top Small Van for the ninth time in succession, while its Transit stablemate claimed the Large Van of the Year title for the 15th time in the history of the awards.

Ford also won the Fleet Safety Initiative Award for its Focus Driver Assistance Pack. This Pack is a £750 option on the Focus and includes seven safety features including: lane keeping aid; lane departure warning; blind spot alert; driver alert if sensors detect erratic driving; and Active City Stop, which monitors the road ahead and brakes the car automatically if a collision is imminent.

Meanwhile, BMW retained the Environmental Initiative Award for its low emission EfficientDynamics technology, which is gradually being rolled out across the manufacturer’s model range.

It is a combination of systems involving a mixture of Auto Start/Stop, Brake Energy Regeneration, Active Aerodynamics, low rolling resistance tyres, Electric Power Steering, on-demand ancillary systems and optimum gearshift indicator features.

The Volkswagen Golf is a four-time ACFO Car of the Year winner and this year the 1.6 TDI BlueMotion model, which offers combined cycle fuel economy of 74.3 mpg and has CO2 emissions of 99 g/km, was named Green Vehicle of the Year.

Finally, while all suppliers strive to deliver customer satisfaction through a high quality fleet service, ALD Automotive, one of the UK’s largest vehicle leasing and fleet management companies, won the accolade as Fleet Service Company of the Year with ACFO members declaring that the organisation offered the best overall combination of quality products, service and integrity and fully understood the requirements of fleet decision-makers.

ACFO chairman Julie Jenner said: “Fleet decision-makers are reliant on motor manufacturers to deliver vehicles that are cost effective to operate, safe, reliable and environmentally-friendly and supplier companies to provide a first class service.

“Operating successfully in partnership it means that through the availability of top quality vehicles and first rate suppliers, vehicle downtime can be kept to an absolute minimum and fleet managers can focus on the efficient and effective operation of their vehicles to support their businesses.”

Results:

Fleet Safety Initiative of the Year
Winner - Ford Focus Driver Assistance Pack
Shortlist - DVLA Licence Checking, Mercedes-Benz for in car safety systems, ALD Automotive ProFleet2.

Fleet Service Company of the Year
Winner - ALD Automotive
Shortlist - Marshall Leasing, Lex Autolease, LeasePlan

Environmental Initiative of the Year
Winner - BMW EfficientDynamics
Shortlist - ‘From A to B: The ACFO Guide to UK Journey Planning’, Bosch Stop-Start systems, ALD Automotive ProFleet2

Small Van of the Year
Winner - Ford Transit Connect
Shortlist - Volkswagen Caddy, Citroen Berlingo, Mercedes Vito, Peugeot Bipper

Large Van of the Year
Winner - Ford Transit
Shortlist - Mercedes Sprinter, Vauxhall Movano, Vauxhall Vivaro, Fiat Ducato

Green Vehicle of the Year
Winner - Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion
Shortlist - BMW 3 Series, Nissan Leaf, Volvo V50 DRIVe, Vauxhall EcoFlex range

Fleet Car of the Year
Winner - Ford Focus
Shortlist - BMW 3 Series, Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen Golf, Skoda Octavia.